Netflix viewers are flocking to the gritty sports drama A Prayer Before Dawn, which landed on the streaming platform on 20th January and has quickly climbed to number four in the top 10 rankings. Directed by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, the film stars Peaky Blinders actor Joe Cole as real-life boxer Billy Moore, based on Moore's autobiography A Prayer Before Dawn: My Nightmare in Thailand's Prisons.
The story follows Moore's harrowing experiences after his arrest in Thailand on charges of possessing stolen property and a firearm. Imprisoned around 2007 at Klong Prem prison in Bangkok, he endures overcrowded cells, brutal gang violence, and a descent into drug addiction. The film depicts his suicide attempt, his decision to join the prison's Muay Thai boxing squad, and his eventual participation in the national tournament, becoming the first foreigner ever to compete.
Moore's journey includes a violent attack on two Muslim inmates after being given ya ba (a methamphetamine and caffeine mix) by a guard, and biting a correction officer's neck when denied painkillers. Despite a hernia that could cause fatal internal bleeding, he fights in the championship, winning by a narrow margin before collapsing and being hospitalised. He briefly escapes but returns to hospital, where he meets his father, played by the real Billy Moore.
The closing titles reveal Moore served three more years in Thailand before being transferred to a UK prison and freed by amnesty from the King of Thailand in October 2010. He now dedicates his life to supporting other addicts while maintaining his own recovery. Today, Moore is believed to live in Liverpool.
The film was shot at Thailand's Nakhon Pathom prison, now a museum, as the real prisons denied access. A Prayer Before Dawn is now streaming on Netflix.
