Les trois prochains jours

The Next Three Days

The best films are those where you are introduced to characters who do the unpredictable believably, or people you think will be key players die in the opening scene, someone you least expect turns out to be the murderer, these are the films that keep you guessing and keep you involved. In Paul Haggis' intense thriller he chooses a wise and well crafted angle to lure you in and hold your attention. The development of John Brennan and his gradual transformation over time before your very eyes.

Meet John Brennan, he's a normal average working man, slightly nerdy even, living a fairly dull routine life. When his wife is imprisoned for murder John, as you would expect of a normal average slightly nerdy working man follows the rules of appeal in an attempt to win her freedom. Three years pass and the realisation that his wife will remain behind bars for life hits home. When normal people find themselves in hopeless situations desperation can drive them to do very abnormal things.

What Haggis works brilliantly into both his screenplay and direction is the gradual metamorphosis of Brennan's persona as he becomes fixated on breaking his wife out of prison. Brennan doesn't suddenly become the all American action hero capable of great feats of courage. We have a knowledge of his character from the beginning of the film and Haggis does not treat the audience as idiots, we know that Brennan cannot walk into a phonebox and there's a sudden change into superman. This would not work for John Brennan, the nerdy schoolteacher, what we see however is how little by little, piece by piece he falls more and more out of control, deeper and deeper out of his depth. We know this is not the normal behaviour of Brennan, but the screenplay is so well crafted and Crowe delivers the character to us perfectly that both the scenarios and Brennan remain at all times, believable. He makes tremendous mistakes and shows real human failings and frailties that as we ride along with him we're never far from the belief that it will all go very wrong, very soon. Haggis treats us to a wonderfully woven story that rolls along with ease, then suddenly the momentum builds into a Tsunami of real tension. Brennan is completely exposed and you fear for his outcome.

If a director can pull you into the story, make you care about a character, and if during the course of that film allow you to watch that character change in a very real and gradual way then he has delivered a truly great film.

Haggis' screenplay does not allow the audience to get ahead of the story. Developments are unexpected and plausible scenarios affect action and reaction. Some events have no bearing on the outcome but you cannot know which are red herrings and which are genuine avenues rather you find yourself wondering where this will all lead to, making The Next Three Days a complex and intriguing thriller very much in the cerebral and classical sense such as North by Northwest or Vertigo.

A tremendous, faultless film.

10/10

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.

All I can say is... Big Wow. Boy did I enjoy this film. The story-line is a cross between The Fugitive and a human heist plot movie. There were moments where I genuinely really didn't know which way the story would end. Has to be one of the best, if not the best film I've seen this year.

I just had to watch right through to the end. The only down side, were the roles of the 2 main cops. I'm not sure if 2 real cops would be as persistent. But I guess if they weren't, then the film would be a fair bit shorter.

I can't think of any other bad things about it, as it does what it is supposed to do, make you care about the characters and keep you gripped till the end. All in all very entertaining.

Definitely worth watching.

This has to be one of the best films I have watched of late. Everything you would wish it to be. Very tense at times and keeps you on edge. Great acting from Russell Crowe and the story is very smart and gripping. Not as predictable as some films seem to be when using a similar storyline to this. Very entertaining all the way through from start to finish with no gaps which is always good for a film that exceeds 2 hours in duration. A very different performance from Crowe which we don't offer see, but be played it very well, and very powerful. Definitely a must watch. Don't wait around for this one, I would strive to watch it straight away for those that haven't done so yet.

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.