The Next Three Days

Another noir French thriller is converted into a 'noir-ish' American thriller. Russell Crowe's slightly thuggish looks make him more convincing as the desperado of the second half than the mild-mannered schoolteacher of the first half. Elizabeth Banks's role as the imprisoned wife is slightly under-written; their cute toddler son steals most of her scenes and even some of Russell's.

The plot takes too long to set up, so the first half of the film is a slow haul. But the last half has almost the cracking pace of a DIE HARD romp. Writer/director Paul Haggis elects to deceive the audience as well as the police who are in close pursuit of the fugitives, which puts this in the tradition of 'classics' like TO CATCH A THIEF and CHARADE. Gritty and enjoyable.

Just saw this at a London preview screening.

I have not seen the original that this is apparently a remake of so I cannot compare. What I can say is that this movie was deftly directed with a perfect pacing that smoothly shifts through each gear from 1 to full throttle. It starts off with the necessary slow exposition, transitioning to a heartfelt family crisis drama and crime thriller with the tension slowly cranking up to a breakneck speed when I was literally holding my breath in the compelling edge of the seat finale.

What I admire most about this film is the smooth kinetic flow from scene to scene. There didn't seem to be any implausible leap in logic apart from maybe towards the end but everything just connects together so well. All of the actors were superb in their roles. As for Russel Crowe, well I can't think of many actors who expresses wordless undying love better than he can. He is simply a master of it and you just cant help root for him even if he makes or contemplates morally wrong decisions. His character is beautifully played with all the invulnerability, weaknesses and stubborn obsession he possesses.

The supporting actors were all excellent in the little screen time that they each get. And there is even a brilliant cameo by a well known Irish actor (shant spoil who it is for you) that sparked up the screen briefly in an instrumental role to the plot. The great Brian Denhhey also has a few minutes on screen time as Crowes father, hardly uttering a word but you just know exactly what is going on in his mind and it is absolutely touching.

So in summary, this is a top thriller with an exhilarating edge of the seat 3rd act, enriched by beautifully touching moments and thick underlying subtext of undying love.

This is a surprisingly good movie, not the usual Hollywood formula potboiler. The movie has an interesting story, strong acting and excellent cinematography. Perhaps the plot is somewhat far-fetched but so what? It's a movie. The best part of this movie are not the stars but the supporting cast. Most impressive was the performance by Lennie James who definitely deserves formal recognition for his work in this movie. So strong is his performance that I this movie could easily be retitled "The Pursuit" without misleading the audience. Both Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks give strong performances and Brian Dennehy once again proves how great he is as an actor. At times the story does stretch the boundaries of plausibility but never to the point that the story is rendered ridiculous. In this movie there are no bad guys. Rather it dramatizes a justice system that at times may not get it right and how frustration and indignation can lead one to commit acts of desperation.

I'll admit that I was already partially sold on The Next Three Days from the cast alone. Russell Crowe usually does really well in thrillers, and Elizabeth Banks is one of those actresses that you just love to see on the screen. They're joined by Liam Neeson and Olivia Wilde in small (but appreciated) roles. Not a bad collection of actors, right? Crowe in particular gave a good performance that (thankfully) wiped his recent half-hearted turn as Robin Hood right out of my mind. 

The story is about an average guy who plots to break his wife out of prison, where she's serving time for a murder that he doesn't believe she committed. He's a community college teacher, not an expert on prison escapes, so a lot of The Next Three Days is spent with Crowe's character researching how he can accomplish his goal and trying to get passports, money, etc. It's only in the last 30 minutes when the plan is actually put into action, but the movie stays exciting and interesting throughout. 

I unfortunately haven't been able to check out the original French film, Pour Elle, so I can't compare quality between the two. Judged solely on its own merits, I thought The Next Three Days was a solid, tense, occasionally clever thriller. Nothing mind-blowing, but not many glaring flaws, either. There are a few moments when the move strays a little too far beyond believability (ex. super cops repeatedly making huge, unerring leaps of logic), but I still recommend it. 

Cool soundtrack, too. Who would have thought The Like would be featured in a big budget Hollywood flick?

Russell Crowe is a pretty reliable star, one who commands the screen with intelligence and enough bravado to get away with a film like this. Somehow, audiences and critics are getting more demanding and expect brainier and tighter story lines, but it's still plenty of fun to see a light, crazy ride like this... One where the hero is besieged by unfortunate circumstances and must one way or another succeed or die. With the help of Haggis' strong direction and a very good performance by Crow, we're treated to two hours of action, where one doesn't have to do a lot of thinking, just watching Crowe dodge bullet after bullet and cheer him along to the nail-biting end.

The main reason the film works is Crowe gives it his best, scene after scene his eyes tells us his character is committed to his family, and he will stand by them no matter what. There is very little background given to us, except for an opening scene which serves the purpose of planting the seed of doubt in our minds, but this only helps fuel the sense of despair and sadness that threatens to destroy this family.

Little by little, we follow Crowe's teacher, as he races against the clock to help his wife, and soon enough, he is dealing with the scum of society and an increasingly suspicious police force. Relationships with his family are tense at best, and any new relationships are threatened his wife's past. It's the attention to this intimate and personal moments that makes us care for him, even when he makes a couple of disturbing moves.

One thing you won't be is bored, as the circle tightens, so that his quest might not get his desired results. Fine work is done by a cast that includes Brian Dennehy, Liam Nelson, and Jsson Beghe. This is what movies are made for.