Dead Man Walking
4/4
Starring: Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Raymond J. Barry, R. Lee Ermey, Celia Weston
Rated R for a Depiction of a Rape and Murder
There is no doubt that "Dead Man Walking" is an intense movie. A film in which the lead character bears witness to the pain of parents whose children were murdered and the murderer himself is bound to leave anyone shaken.
Six years ago, Matthew Poncelet (Penn) and Carl Vitello (Michael Cullen) raped Hope Percy (Missy Yager) and then murdered her and her boyfriend, Walter Delacroix (Peter Saarsgard). Vitello received life in prison, while Poncelet got a death sentence. He writes a letter to a young nun named Helen Prejean (Sarandon), asking for spiritual guidance. She visits him, but finds him to be an arrogant, hateful and racist young man. But she sticks it out because she feels called to help this man.
Sarandon and writer/director Tim Robbins are widely known as anti-death penalty advocates, but based on the film, you wouldn't know it. "Dead Man Walking" has no opinion about the act of condemning a man or woman to die (although it does admit that the system is highly flawed). It examines the thoughts and feelings of the parents (Barry as Walter's father and Ermey & Weston as Hope's parents), who want Poncelet to die and Poncelet who is desperately hoping for his sentence to be commuted to life. All viewpoints are given their due and are presented in ways that both pique the intellect and add to character. For example, the Percy's welcome Helen into their home until she tells them that she is not in favor of executing Poncelet, at which time they run her out of their house. Earl Delacroix, on the other hand, is a little more gray. He despises Matthew, but still seeks out guidance from Helen.
The acting is superb. Susan Sarandon has always been a versatile actress, but here, she owns the film; her Oscar was well-deserved. She plays Prejean with a quiet strength filled with genuine goodness, and becomes the light guiding us through this grisly muck. Unlike many films of this nature, Prejean is not a nosy reporter or someone looking for justice. She is simply an observer, offering help to all that ask. Likewise, Penn is mesmerizing as Poncelet, a man who beneath the hateful exterior, is a lonely and frightened man looking for a friend. Celia Weston and particularly R. Lee Ermey are good as Hope's grieving parents who lash out at Helen. Raymond J. Barry, a character actor known mainly for playing slimy villains, is also quite good as Walter's father, who takes to Helen with a guarded reserve. No less important are Hope and Walter themselves. Although their parts are largely non-speaking, Robbins develops them enough through others' dialogue and showing their pictures so that their deaths serve as an effective foundation. Hope and Walter's presence is felt throughout the film.
Robbins has fashioned himself a difficult film, and he plays it out with the skill of a master. There are a number of ideas and characters that make up the film, and by focusing on Helen, he is able to navigate through it all without losing us or the story. He also peppers the film with a bit of gallows humor, which I thank him for. After seeing "The War Zone," I wasn't ready for something that intense.
Both perplexing and deeply sad, "Dead Man Walking" is a must see for everyone who has questions about the death penalty or the act of forgiveness.
Starring: Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Raymond J. Barry, R. Lee Ermey, Celia Weston
Rated R for a Depiction of a Rape and Murder
There is no doubt that "Dead Man Walking" is an intense movie. A film in which the lead character bears witness to the pain of parents whose children were murdered and the murderer himself is bound to leave anyone shaken.
Six years ago, Matthew Poncelet (Penn) and Carl Vitello (Michael Cullen) raped Hope Percy (Missy Yager) and then murdered her and her boyfriend, Walter Delacroix (Peter Saarsgard). Vitello received life in prison, while Poncelet got a death sentence. He writes a letter to a young nun named Helen Prejean (Sarandon), asking for spiritual guidance. She visits him, but finds him to be an arrogant, hateful and racist young man. But she sticks it out because she feels called to help this man.
Sarandon and writer/director Tim Robbins are widely known as anti-death penalty advocates, but based on the film, you wouldn't know it. "Dead Man Walking" has no opinion about the act of condemning a man or woman to die (although it does admit that the system is highly flawed). It examines the thoughts and feelings of the parents (Barry as Walter's father and Ermey & Weston as Hope's parents), who want Poncelet to die and Poncelet who is desperately hoping for his sentence to be commuted to life. All viewpoints are given their due and are presented in ways that both pique the intellect and add to character. For example, the Percy's welcome Helen into their home until she tells them that she is not in favor of executing Poncelet, at which time they run her out of their house. Earl Delacroix, on the other hand, is a little more gray. He despises Matthew, but still seeks out guidance from Helen.
The acting is superb. Susan Sarandon has always been a versatile actress, but here, she owns the film; her Oscar was well-deserved. She plays Prejean with a quiet strength filled with genuine goodness, and becomes the light guiding us through this grisly muck. Unlike many films of this nature, Prejean is not a nosy reporter or someone looking for justice. She is simply an observer, offering help to all that ask. Likewise, Penn is mesmerizing as Poncelet, a man who beneath the hateful exterior, is a lonely and frightened man looking for a friend. Celia Weston and particularly R. Lee Ermey are good as Hope's grieving parents who lash out at Helen. Raymond J. Barry, a character actor known mainly for playing slimy villains, is also quite good as Walter's father, who takes to Helen with a guarded reserve. No less important are Hope and Walter themselves. Although their parts are largely non-speaking, Robbins develops them enough through others' dialogue and showing their pictures so that their deaths serve as an effective foundation. Hope and Walter's presence is felt throughout the film.
Robbins has fashioned himself a difficult film, and he plays it out with the skill of a master. There are a number of ideas and characters that make up the film, and by focusing on Helen, he is able to navigate through it all without losing us or the story. He also peppers the film with a bit of gallows humor, which I thank him for. After seeing "The War Zone," I wasn't ready for something that intense.
Both perplexing and deeply sad, "Dead Man Walking" is a must see for everyone who has questions about the death penalty or the act of forgiveness.
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