Dead Man Walking

Rating:
Summary: Capital issue
Review: 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 to take sides.

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 all 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 - not confessing and probably in his self-delusion convincing himself that he too was a victim of a bigger act of serendipity. When 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 - and subsequently apologizes to the parents of the victims just before his execution, the scenes of the brutal and shameless crime are brilliantly juxtaposed to the sophisticated act of execution. In those breathtaking final moments of catharsis, the audience is left 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.


Rating:
Summary: This Is A Great Movie - Winner Best Actress Award
Review: This movie is about the death penalty (against it but presenting balance on both sides of the issue) and a search for what happened on that terrible day when two young people were murdered. Susan Sarandon plays Sister Helen and was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the movie. Sean Penn plays Matthew Poncelet on death row for murder. The film and the roles are intense, brilliant, powerful and strong.

The movie was a box office sensation in 1995-1996. The acting in the movie is excellent for the entire cast. It shows the harrowing experience of the State putting one its citizens to death. It shows the horror of Poncelet being involved in a brutal murder of two people, and the horror of the State putting him to death.

George MacPherson Reid (Woodbridge)

Rating:
Summary: "THANK YOU FOR LOVING ME"
Review: That's the penitent outcry of a hard-boiled criminal awaiting the chair.

No mean feat to make such a heartfelt film on a sensitive subject (capital punishment, with religious undertones) without being preachy or lopsided. I can think of several movies that have reached for similar heights (Life of David Gale, Rampage, Vigilante) but Dead Man Walking is probably the only one that pulls it off with so much sanity and compassion.

Our protagonist (Sean Penn in probably the role of his life, other than Mystic River) is on his final leg on death row for an allegedly racially-instigated rape and murder of a young woman and her boyfriend. Sister Helen (Sarandon) is a nun called upon to console and befriend the man in hopes to evoke remorse for his dastardly act, and hence redemption according to the Catholic faith.

Doing thus, she soon becomes the viewers' eyes; we see events as she experiences them, facts revealed as she discovers them. She visits not only the callous inmate but also his victims' families. Interacting with them takes her into their world, which she finds is seething with anger.

We understand this of course given the gravity of the crime, but this is where the script excels, it's not a strident, single-minded indictment of a murderer. The raped girl's family are a loving folk yet viciously spiteful of the rapist, with a near-maniacal thirst for revenge. At one point, the father shrieks, "I could kill the beast with my own bare hands." Lines blur here about who the "beast" is.

Sarandon and Penn won their deserved accolades but the true winner here is the story for showing us the harrowing realities of executions. The dialogue is subtly witty and has interesting takes on big issues. At one stage, a prison guard says to a nun, "You know what the bible says, an eye for an eye". The nun says, " You know what else the Bible ask for death as a punishment? For adultery, prostitution, homosexuality, trespass upon sacred grounds, profane in a sabbath and contempt to parents." An educated nun with an open mind. Truly refreshing.

The film is unequivocal in its position on the death penalty (against it), but never forces it. Pro-death penalty folks will hardly change their mind after this film, but it won't drive them screaming from the theater either. It may not be for everyone, but it has its heart and head in the right place.

Very, very moving, thought-provoking stuff. A copy of this DVD belongs in every sensible library.

Rating:
Summary: A fair exploration of the death penalty issue.
Review: However it is obvious that hollywood thought it was against the DP, so they bloated the merit of the film to near orgasmic proportions. It's above average but not a classic. Sarandon was great.

Rating:
Summary: THE TRUTH WILL SET US FREE
Review: DEAD MAN WALKING is a difficult film to watch, in that it is so hard to decide if the death penalty brings redemption or closure. Director Tim Robbins wisely shows both sides of this long fought controversy. For every time we see Sean Penn's side of things, Robbins makes sure we see the bodies of the two young people whose lives were taken. Penn is marvelous in his role as Matthew Poncelet, an embittered, hard young man whose time on death row has yet to prepare him for his road to redemption. Susan Sarandon gives an Oscar worthy performance as Sister Helen Prejean, a nun who finds herself becoming Penn's spiritual advisor as the time for his execution draws near. Sarandon is brilliant as she fights her internal demons, wanting to bring Penn his redemption, but wanting to console the families of the victims as well. Raymond J. Barry, F. Lee Ermey and Celia Weston are superb in the roles of the victim's parents, and Robert Prosky delivers a fine performance as a lawyer who tries a last ditch attempt to stay the execution.
The movie doesn't preach at us or make decisions as to what is right. Penn's crime is a hideous one, but it is to his credit that we still feel sympathy for him as he approaches his execution.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie!
Review: The movie has power and grace. It also makes a statement about the death penalty.
Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon are excellent in this film.

Rating:
Summary: It's not faith, it's work.
Review: I am going to go out on a limb here and say this was a decent film, but surely did not deserve all the accolades that it was handed. Director Robbins proves that he knows how to handle himself behind the camera with controlling two powerhouses like Sean Penn and wife Susan Sarandon, but sadly there was just nothing spectacular about the story. This was one of those films that I felt like I had to watch because of all the publicity that it was receiving, and when I finished watching it I sat there dumbfounded. This was a good movie. Was it great? I don't think so. Was it one that would give the Academy a warm fuzzy feeling if they nominated? I think yes. That is the only reason I think this film was up for the awards that it was granted. The Academy has never been one to reach out to the smaller, more disturbing films (like anything by David Gordon Green) and award. It was obvious this year too when Lord of the Rings took home all those darn Oscars and the smaller films were left in the dust. Sad.

Grade: *** out of *****

Rating:
Summary: ROBBINS, SARANDON AT THEIR BEST
Review: Tim Robbins made another "political" film." "Dead Man Walking" stayed on an even keel. Starring Sean Penn in a bravura performance as a murderer getting ready for his execution, it takes a surprisingly Catholic point of view, in which Susan Sarandon plays a nun who makes him take responsibility for his actions, ostensibly to save his soul. It could be interpreted as being against the death penalty, but this is actually a stretch. This film is a good example of how much talent Robbins has and how, when he avoids major Left wing politics, he produyces some real genius.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
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