Dead Man Walking (1995)

Tim Robbins takes this film beyond its implicit political message and produces a moving piece of art. Though the underlying anti-death penalty moral is prevalent, the director never becomes tendentious. He intersperses the plight of death row inmate Matthew Poncelet with gruesome, if not surreal, images of the crime that he committed. And where one would expect a juxtaposition of the brutality of Poncelet's (and his co-perpetrator's) nefarious act with an equally cruel demonstration of state-sponsored execution, Robbins shows Poncelet's death to be clinical and quiet in comparison to his sordid deed. It is this type of restraint that not only adds credibility to the work but also power.

The performances of Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon as Poncelet and Sister Helen Prejean respectively, are stellar. Penn's grim nuance pervades his character as he moves from stoical rancor to the contrition that provides the denouement. With the incisiveness in which his acting has become associated he provides the edge in which Sarandon impinges her role. Appearing perpetually exhausted, she immerses herself in the sturm and drang of her part and counters Penn's fringe with an enveloping emollient. Even her expostulations and attempts to save Poncelet from perdition do not even approach pontification or the banal.

In the end this movie did not change my opinion on the death penalty; such conversions only occur via gradation. However it did leave a lasting impression on me as powerful as its provocative subject matter.

Fmovies: 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.

"Dead Man Walking" is one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen. I find it hard to believe that anyone, after having seen the movie, could feel indifferent about the film or its message. Tim Robbins does not try to impose his ideas and beliefs on the viewers, but manages to make a film that are in most ways sympathetic to both views on the death penalty -- whether it is right to murder a murderer or not. I have always known where I stand in this question, even as a child, and this movie -- despite the fact that it does not really take any sides -- made me even surer in my conviction that it can never be right to murder *anyone*.

Sean Penn is absolutely brilliant in his portrayal of Matthew Poncelet, his nomination for an Academy Award was very well-deserved. Even if Nicolas Cage does a great job in "Leaving Las Vegas", I would have been happier if Penn had won the award. Susan Sarandon is also brilliant and she deserved the Academy Award she won. And Tim Robbins certainly deserves the vote I have given this film: 9/10!

Dead Man Walking fmovies. "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.

"Dead Man Walking" is a piece of incredible filmmaking. All the acting is top-notch and realistic, and the script examines the issue of the death penalty from both sides, paying equal homage to both. Above all, this is a deeply moving story of redemption, of death with dignity and loss of ego. Any film that deals this courageously and maturely with such incredibly difficult subject matter deserves a rating of 10/10. Thank you, Tim Robbins!

In a world in which debatable and misunderstood subjects can be listed endlessly, this powerful 1995 film takes on one at the top of that list; moreover, it does it objectively and realistically, and with a sensibility and sensitivity that makes it a truly great film by anyone's measuring stick. And to add some irony to it all, even the subject matter of this film has been widely misunderstood, as it is wrongly perceived that this is a film about the pros and cons of the death penalty; it is not. At the heart of `Dead Man Walking,' directed by Tim Robbins, is a subject that in reality is possibly the most misunderstood of all, and with good reason, because it just may be the hardest thing there is for a human being to really-- and truly-- understand. And it is what this film is actually all about: Forgiveness. Real forgiveness; not excusing a heinous crime or the perpetrator thereof-- not saying that what's happened is okay-- but finding the strength to go on, and to do so by choosing life.

Director/screenwriter Tim Robbins has crafted and delivered a faithful adaptation of the novel by Sister Helen Prejean, in which she discusses her involvement with the death-row inmates to whom over the years she has ministered her faith in God. As chronicled in the film, what for her was to become a lifelong pursuit of not only justice, but human dignity, began with a simple letter from a death-row inmate at the Louisiana State Prison at Angola. Sentenced to death for rape and murder, Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn) was reaching out to anyone who would listen, when his letter ended up in the hands of Sister Prejean (Susan Sarandon), who soon found herself venturing into a territory of which she had absolutely no knowledge or experience. And Robbins has successfully captured Sister Prejean's emotional and turbulent journey succinctly, while managing to keep it devoid of any maudlin sentimentality, which makes it not only real, credible and believable, but makes it a poignant and thoroughly emotionally involving experience for the audience. Through the medium of the cinema, what was once a personal, significant emotional experience for Sister Prejean, becomes one for everyone who sees this film, as well.

For her soul-stirring, impassioned portrayal of Sister Prejean, Susan Sarandon deservedly won the Oscar for Best Actress. Sensitive and fraught with emotional depth, her performance is incredibly touching and real, especially in the way in which she conveys Sister Prejean's underlying natural fragility and vulnerability, which she adamantly tempered with the toughness she needed to carry on with her endeavors on behalf of Poncelet (and in reality, a total of five since she began). Whatever your point of view regarding the matters examined in this film, Sister Prejean is without question an individual of heroic proportions, which Sarandon exquisitely personifies here; and she does it without resorting to any superfluous melodramatics, but rather by keeping it real, by subtly and humbly exploring the humanity of the person in a very believable expression of characterization. It's an extraordinary performance, arguably the best of Sarandon's brilliant career.

Turning in a career-best performance, as well, is Sean Penn, who was nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of Poncelet (he lost out to Nicolas Cage, who won for his performance in `Leaving Las Vegas). Perfect for the part in every way, Penn has quite simply never been better, before or since. He effectively presents Poncele