Dead Man Walking
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Movie Reviews of Dead Man Walking
Movie Review: A Fair Exploration Of The Death Penalty
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me start about by saying that I can see why Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn won awards for best actress in a leading role and best actor in a leading roll.
Dead Man Walking a film by Tim Robbins is based on actual events. Susan Sarandon portrays Sister Helen Prejean a nun who is in prison ministry and becomes pen-pals with a condemned inmate Matthew Poncelet. Sister Helen went to the prison just to talk with him and get him to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior before he was scheduled to be executed.
Sean Penn portrays Matthew Poncelet a man who was convicted of killing two teenagers and sentenced to die. I would also like to add that Sean's portrayal of Matthew Poncelet (this is not the real life name of the actual person that this movie was based on.) was very moving so much so that it actually made me cry.
What I loved about this movie was that it raised a lot of questions on the issue of capital punishment. The Bible says "Thou Shall Not Kill" but, The Bible also says "An Eye for an Eye" As you watch this film you will see how the victims family and rightfully so want Matthew Poncelet to die. They feel that this is the right thing to do. However, Sister Helen brings up some startling points like just because someone committed a horrible crime does that mean that he or she does not deserve to hear about God's love and His forgiveness and to be treated like a human being during their last days? This film after you watch it will make you ask these questions. (At least it did for me)
I'm so glad I bought this film because it does truly make you wonder what is truly the right and wrong way to handle situations like in the case of Matthew Poncelet.
The only thing I was really disappointed with was the ending because the ending in the movie differs from the actual events that had taken place which I don't understand but, other than that I have no complaints and I really do think that anyone who is torn on the issue of capital punishment or lean to one side over the other should see this film because it does not only show the victim's families point of view but, you also get to see things through the eyes of someone who is convicted of a crime. So this is why I love this film because it doesn't just focus on one point of view but, both points of view.
Movie Review: A movie without easy answers or bumper-sticker philosophies
Summary: 5 Stars
Dead Man Walking is a rare gem of a movie. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Sister Helen Prejean, three-time Nobel Prize nominee and noted death penalty activist, the movie follows Sister Helen's spiritual, philosophical, and emotional journey as she acts as a spiritual advisor to a prisoner on Louisiana's Death Row.The film opens with Prejean accepting the position, not knowing what to expect, and continues with her harrowing personal journey as she meets the prisoner she has been corresponding with, the families of the prisoner's victims, and the lawmen involved both in his arrest and his incarceration.
Dead Man Walking isn't simple bleeding-heart propaganda, and truly shines because the film - like Prejean's wonderful book - refuses to take the easy way out. Writer/director Tim Robbin's script gives equal time to both sides of this divisive issue, and trivializes neither by compacting tense, emotions into sound bites and bumper-sticker philosophy, which is what happens all too frequently in movies that pretend to be "deep" and "meaningful."
Deciding where one stands on any philosophical and ethical issue is never an easy decision, and Dead Man Walking takes that path of discovery and truly gives it its fair due. The film leaves the viewer with more questions than answers, but does take a rather anti-capital punishment stance towards the end, as the main character begins to from her opinions.
Dead Man Walking is as fine a piece of filmmaking as anyone can ask, with excellent preformances all around (Sarandon won a Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Prejean). The death penalty is not a simple issue, since it taps into some of our rawest emotions; it is one thing to sit in a classroom and debate, or form an "ethic" based upon reading a book, and quite another to face the person that raped and killed your daughter or son, mother or father, brother or sister. This film is complicated enough to wrestle with that issue and come out as a shining example of the level of thought that can go into one production.
People expecting easy answers, propaganda, or re-affirmation of their point of view shouldn't watch. Those who are interested in a layered piece of human experienced universalized, Dead Man Walking is highly recommended.
Movie Review: Inspiring book & Film
Summary: 5 Stars
This is both a book and a movie that you need to interact with. Particularly in a day and age when there is a movement here in Canada to try to bring the death penalty back. The book is much more in depth than the movie. The book profiles the first three men that Sr. Prejean goes to the death chamber with as Spiritual Director. It profiles her mistakes as she journeys down this path for the first few times. She witnessed her first execution on April 5th, 1984 and she has been advocating against the death penalty since then.
The book does a great job of showing the disparity in how the death penalty is applied. It goes through the studies on its lack of effectiveness, and how for the most part, it is the poor and the African-American who are on death row. Even if you only read the appendices, the book will challenge you to view the death penalty in a different way.
The movie was the inspiration and starred Susan Sarandon. Sarandon was given the book while on a personal retreat at a monastery; she came home and gave the book to her partner, Tim Robbins, who directed the film. Together they approached Sr. Prejean, who went out and rented Bull Durham. She was a little leery of having them do the film, but after meeting with them went ahead with the project.
The film co-stars Sean Penn as Matthew Poncelet, a compilation of the 3 men in the book. The movie, while slow moving, is incredibly intense and draws you into the drama of waiting for a death when you know the date and time of that approaching death.
As an interesting aside, another good book is Forgiving the Dead Man Walking by Debbie Morris, who was one of the victims of Robert Lee Willie from the book. Debbie always said if they ever made a movie, Penn would have to play Willie because they looked so much alike.
So read the book and watch the movie, and if you want yet another challenging book, give Forgiving the Dead Man Walking a read also.
Movie Review: Capital issue
Summary: 5 Stars
Countries, people and ideologies world over have forever debated upon the justifiability of capital punishment. Many arguments and counterarguments later an average person still forms his impression based upon some or the other personal experience. Someone who has no strong religious belief or who has not suffered -directly or indirectly- from any criminal act would arguably find herself in a dilemma as to which side to take.
`Dead Man Walking' gives the audience an unbiased insight into the social issue of capital punishment. A subtly crafted script, brilliant performances by Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon and a delicate portrayal of events that lead to the execution of Sean Penn - for a brutal double crime of raping and killing - and most compellingly, the act of execution itself - gives the audience a first-hand exposure to the trauma experienced by those involved.
It is indeed a very fine line. To kill or not to kill - that is the question. Why and who kills - is not the echoing thought you are left with. Instead you are haunted by the question - is it right to end a life regardless of who, when, why, how? Sean Penn's last words suggest otherwise. He has lived in a state of denial while not confessing, and probably in his self-delusion convincing himself that he too was a victim of a bigger act of serendipity. Eventually, he breaks down in an uneventful moment and accepts his crime before Susan Sarandon - the nun who has done everything she could to give him a fair chance. He subsequently apologizes to the parents of the victims just before his execution. In an enthralling climatic episode, the scenes of the brutal and shameless crime are brilliantly juxtaposed to the sophisticated act of execution. The breathtaking cathartic moments of this episode leave the audience with the big question - is taking a life right? Regardless of who does it.
A must watch movie that leaves us with an issue to ponder over.
Movie Review: Disturbingly Well-Balanced
Summary: 5 Stars
A double tour de force from writer-director Tim Robbins. After condensing the autobiographical novel in which anti-death penalty proponent Sister Helen Prejean movingly recounted her experiences counseling condemned murderers in Louisiana, Robbins provides a fascinating counter-balance by giving equal emphasis to pro-death penalty advocates as represented by the victim's families. The result? A mature, gripping screenplay that doesn't pretend to provide glib answers to the many difficult questions it raises.Such a powerful script demanded careful casting decisions, and Director Robbins scored a series of coups, assembling a roster of actors at the peak of their talents. Susan Sarandon, a consistently fine actress, glows with inner conviction as Sister Helen, searching to apply spiritual truths in the unfamiliar realm of Death Row. Sarandon's Oscar-winning performance is given an added measure of power by Sean Penn's wrenching portrait of composite killer Matthew Poncelot. Penn is at once loathsome yet pitiable, brutal yet oddly vulnerable; his carefully nuanced performance is the embodiment of Sarandon's line about every person being "better than their worst act". Able support is offered by R. Lee Ermey, Celia Weston, and (especially) Raymond J. Barry as the parents of Penn's teen-aged victims; this trio's raw pain is extremely difficult to reconcile with the compassion that Penn's character tends to demand of the audience.
The DVD presentation of this modern classic is beautifully rendered, offering crisp, clear sound and sharp visuals. The carefully composed camera shots are best appreciated in the film's original widescreen aspect ratio. This DVD is highly recommended as an excellent film-to-video transfer of a superb movie, exploring a subject that will no doubt continue to be heatedly debated in American society for many years to come.