A Lesson Before Dying

The story evolves around a black youth who is present during a shooting in a white owned grocery store. The owner is killed along with two black men. The young man decides to help himself to the contents of the cash register. Just as the crime is committed he is discovered and ends up being executed. The real story evolves around his feelings and those who were closest to him. The movie is done with the greatest sensitivity and understanding. The acting and directing could not be improved in showing the tragedy to both whites and blacks of the consequences of our prejudices.

I taped this film when it was on tv and come back to it every so often. It is very well done, superbly crafted, and the storytelling is excellent. But what keeps me watching is the performances, specifically Don Cheadles. This man is quite simply a great actor, he is where Denzel was ten years ago. Cicely Tyson remains one of our greatest assets, and the whole cast brings a sensitivity and authenticity to it that makes it sing. Worth watching with your kids, it has valuable lessons for us all.

Don Cheadle is one of the finest actors of our time...period! He has played a variety of roles any actor would be proud of. From light comedy in The Golden Palace and recurring TV drama roles to great films such as A Lesson Before Dying, Hotel Rawanda and Crash. While some of his roles were strictly race oriented, such as these aforementioned films, he has played roles that a person with any racial or ethnic background could have played. Don Cheadle's masterful performances in all of his roles makes him a great actor and there is no denying this. Yes, of course, I see him as an African American, but most of his roles cross the racial divide. This again shows you the magnitude of his talent. I also find that many actors when playing very dramatic roles as in the three movies I mentioned, tend to be OVER-dramatic. Cheadle controls this beautifully and his emotions are strong, yet remain in check. Another attribute is the fact that he looks like the "guy next door." Not overly good looking with a chiseled face, but a nice, sincere, deep common man look that allows him to play so many roles. He is built beautifully as he shows his bare rear end in this film and also has been seen topless in some films and TV. I have seen almost all of his work and can not tell you how highly I think of his performances. He has got to be one of the best actors I have ever seen and rave about him constantly. He has never disappointed me. My only disappointment was that they didn't give co-Acadamy Awards for Best Actor to Fox for Ray and Cheadle for Hotel Rawanda. I am sure Cheadle will see that award someday very soon....

Seven out of ten HBO TV movie gives us what seven out of ten regular Hollywood movie can't give : a strong story. There is also a good sense of honesty in these TV productions. This one is among the best HBO I've seen in years. The story is superb and the script is very well written. Actors are also very strong. The message of this film should be known by all the people. It's also a great tearjerker!

I was required this semester to read a book by an American author and then watch at least one movie based upon the book. I chose "A Lesson Before Dying," by Ernest J. Gaines. The book was excellent and made me cry. The movie was very close to the book, with the exception that some of the scenes orders were switched up (which did not change the meaning very much), it was missing an important, but long scene (the scene's length is probably why it was left out), and a main character was completely deleted. All in all, though, a person could learn just as many things from the movie as from the book, although I still recommend reading the book. I enjoyed watching the movie, the acting was very good. Too bad this movie couldn't make it on the big screen. There are so many lessons to be learned from the unbelievable story line.