A Lesson Before Dying

Seen this movie when I was younger, and didn't appreciate it as much as I did with a second-viewing, maybe because I'm older and understand some more of the concepts of having dignity with injustice.

Even though the movie is a made for TV HBO movie, it has some high-quality actors like Don Cheadle and Mekhi Pheifer with solid performances that isn't overly sentimental or preachy about the morals of right and wrong and injustice of the 1940s segregated South. Instead, it's a heart-touching look at how a person can live righteously even in the face of injustice.

And kudos to the filmmakers as the scenery and even down to the accents seemed historically accurate. I felt like I wasn't watching a made for TV movie at all, well it was a HBO movie so that just shows you the high-quality that was put into it as in many HBO movies. A true must see for people that like historical movies, especially one with messages that overly preachy.

A really great film, beautifully filmed and acted with excellent character development. Much better than Miss Evers' Boys which was made by the same director. I really liked all the characters in each of their roles, and the spectator's interest is maintained without fail during the whole of the film. Although it is a very sad and unjust story the emotion distilled is enough to keep the spectator riveted to his or her seat !

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....

I read the book not that long ago, and had been trying for some time to locate this HBO version for some time. I finally recieved it as a Christmas present and watched it. It was fantastic! Screenwriter Ann peacock and director Joseph Sargent did a fantastic job bring Ernest Gaines' novel to the small screen. It's worth seeking out!

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.