Release Date: January 12, 1996
Starring: Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry, R. Lee Ermey, Celia Weston
Directed by: Tim Robbins
Distributed by: Grammercy Pictures
MPAA Rating: R (a depiction of a rape and murder)
Regardless of how you feel about capital punishment - whether you are a staunch advocate or a fierce antagonist or have no feelings at all - you will be affected upon watching Dead Man Walking. Based upon the real-life work of Sister Helen Prejean, and written and directed by Tim Robbins, one of the most versatile men in the motion picture industry today, this movie is a fine example of two hours of American cinema.
Susan Sarandon comfortably does the movie's Sister Helen, a nun working in the slums of New Orleans. At the movie's outset, a priest asks her to take part in a program where clergy write to inmates in need of spiritual guidance. Sister Helen accepts, quickly penning a letter to a faceless name, expecting that to be the last of it. She soon receives a letter in response, and quickly comes to terms with the fact that her inmate, Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn), is a death row convict about to be executed for the brutal rape and murder of two teenage kids.
As the movie transists into its second portion, where Sister Helen and Poncelet have scattered but meaningful conversations on opposite sides of a screen or bulletproof glass, the movie takes on a very weighty feel. The plot here is very much like that of John Grisham's novel The Chamber, which dealt with another Southern death row inmate. Here, however, the focus is less on the legal issues regarding Poncelet's execution - indeed, his lawyer Hilton Barber (Robert Prosky) continues to work to get Poncelet a stay up until the hours before his death - but rather on the personal trials of a capital criminal.
As Poncelet's spiritual advisor, Sister Helen is allowed to stay with him until almost the end of his life. Sarandon provides us with a benevolent countenance for the good nun, and to complement her, Penn's version of Poncelet is truly repentant. For the first half of the movie, it seems as though both Director Robbins and Penn himself have trouble keeping control of how they want Poncelet to look, but by the final moments he's straightened out. These points are important in dealing with one of the most controversial issues of our time, and this movie is suitable for anyone looking for a fair representation of both sides of the issue.
all contents © 1996 Craig Roush