Dead Man Walking - Condannato a morte

"Dead Man Walking" deals with one nun's struggle (Susan Sarandon in her Oscar-winning part) to help a convicted death row inmate (Sean Penn in an Oscar-nominated role) come to terms with his imminent execution. Writer-director Tim Robbins does something very difficult in this film, he makes us care about the unsympathetic character that Penn plays. Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn dominate the film in every aspect imaginable, they play a complicated chess match at times and eventually become close friends by the end of the picture. The fact that Sarandon and Robbins are openly against the death penalty in real life just adds to this film. Their strong opinion on the subject leads to an unforgettable motion picture that is made well and performed well by the two leads. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

This is a very touching story of a man in a death row. I certainly didn't know anything about death penalty until I saw this movie. It gave me one thing that there is none who has right to take another man's life regardless of what he has done. I really enjoyed it, it made a lot of sense.

There are few films where both the performances and directing are as powerful as they are in this film. Sean Penn is nothing less than awesome in a film that is as unflinching, intelligent, and thoughtful about the death penalty as any film could be. Writer/director Tim Robbins shows a depth beyond any reasonable expectation, Susan Sarandon is wonderful as the strong moral center of the film, and Sean Penn's performance is one of the most specific, thought provoking and eerily realistic performances ever put on film. In short, his performance is a masterpiece, as is this important film.

I haven't seen many films that really, truly made me rethink a long-held position or opinion on a thorny issue, but "Dead Man Walking" is one of them.

I read Sr. Helen Prejean's book, upon which this film was based, when it first came out in 1993. At that time I was utterly supportive of capital punishment -- to quote the script, I felt anyone who committed crimes horrible enough to land them on Death Row was an "expendable human being, suckin' up tax dollars." I also had personal experience with the issue when an entire family whom I knew in my childhood were slaughtered by a man who is now on Death Row for his crimes.

As you might imagine, I was disgusted with Sr. Helen's book. I thought that trotting to death row and holding the hand of some scumbag who'd killed innocent people was about the lowest thing anyone could do, and as a Catholic I was offended by the seeming hypocrisy of it.

Because I had disliked the book, I never saw the film until about two weeks ago, when I bought a remaindered copy of it in a video store. I have watched it four times since then, mostly because I am trying to work out my feelings on it. I am still a supporter of capital punishment, but it's going to be less easy for me to ignore the fact that (to quote again), "There's nobody with money on Death Row" -- and quite a few more blacks, now that I think of it, AND the fact that, like Matthew Poncelet's character, the men who are being executed are human beings who have feelings and fears. It's easy to jeer at Matthew on the day before his execution, fretting nervously about whether the lethal injection will "hurt," like a little boy at the doctor's office for a penicillin shot, since his victims' last moments certainly "hurt." What isn't easy is to realize that while the victims of these inmates didn't know they were about to die until it was too late, the inmates themselves have what seems like a blessing at first, but upon deeper examination is the greatest curse: knowing the exact hour and day they will die, and having to face it day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.

I'm sorry if this review offends people who are sincere death penalty supporters. I still consider myself to be one, but my thinking has been reformed somewhat and I'm more ready to listen to the opponents and try to make compromises; maybe that's what this issue needs more than anything. I will say finally that ONE part of this film did offend me as a Catholic: the symbolic "crucifixion" of Poncelet during the "last words" scene. That was the one place where Robbins strayed from his even-handed approach to the issue -- the only one I could find.

In all, this was a fine film that made me rethink an explosive issue, and I recommend it highly to anyone debating the pros and cons.

Tim Robbins did a masterful job directing this film. I say this because he avoided convention and cliché. He also oversaw superb performances from Susan Sarandon (who won an Oscar for her role) and Sean Penn. Even more amazing, Robbins doesn't patronize. He just tells the story and lets the events play on the viewer's mind. This is so effective because it allows the viewer to form his own opinions on the death penalty, one of the most controversial subjects of our time, without being unfairly manipulated in either direction. I can't recommend this film enough, 9/10.