Dead Man Walking

Released 1995
Reviewed April 6, 1998
Stars Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn
Directed by Tim Robbins

This movie is about the death penalty. It stars Susan Sarandon as Sister Helen Prejean, a Catholic nun, and Sean Penn as Matthew Poncelet, a convicted murderer/rapist on death row. It opens with Poncelet writing a letter to Sister Prejean asking for help. He claims to be innocent and wants her help in staying the execution.

There are few people who can be swayed on the controversial topic of capital punishment. It generally takes a traumatic experience in their lives to do so. I think the film makers here understood that, so they tried to make an unbiased film that showed all sides. My biggest problem with "Dead Man Walking," however, was that it only showed the sides of Helen, Poncelet, and his team of volunteer lawyers for the first forty minutes of the film. I nearly walked out many times. I cannot be swayed on this topic. I am not offended by much in this world, but I am always offended by people who work desperately to save a violent criminal. I was very offended during the first half of this movie.

I said before that Poncelet claims he's innocent. He does not, however, claim he had no part in the viscious crime. He admits to helping in the murders and raping the girl, but he claims he did not pull the trigger. Here, the film wants to know if this makes a difference to you. It doesn't to me, but I know it does to some.

To be fair, the film does show Sister Prejean struggling with her choice to help Poncelet. She doesn't want him freed, and she doesn't much care for him. I will credit the writers for making Poncelet real. He's not presented as a wounded duck, who spins tales of innocence and wrongful conviction. He's an Aryan, racist, wanna-be terrorist, who would like to get out so he can blow up government buildings and "niggers." He makes no apologies for what he did. He merely blames everyone else. Mostly, he says he wasn't as much to blame as his accomplice.

There is one early scene that I admired. It was the first meeting of Sister Prejean and Poncelet. Sister Prejean came from a wealthy family, but felt guilty about it. I loved the way the film had her describe this, because it showed how her compassion was borne from self-pride instead of the need to help others. She explains that she turned her back on her family's wealth to live in a violent, black slum. Her face shows her pride in that bold move. Poncelet recognizes this and plays upon it. Sarandon plays the scene perfectly. Her facade cracks when Poncelet fails to respect her for this decision, and he sees the way to make her help him is to play upon her guilt. First, he tells her she's his only hope. Then he bullies her and accuses her of walking out on him, of abandoning him. He calls her at home and bullies her. It's very effective.

After the first forty, irritating, bleeding-heart minutes, the film instills balance. The victims' families are introduced, and they have harsh words for this nun. Why is she more interested in the well-being of this killer than the families who have had to work their way through their terrible loss? This really isn't explained. I expected a religious diatribe, but it's really left to the viewer. This is something I've always wondered about. Why do people hold vigil during the execution of horrible, violent criminals, instead of holding vigil at the victims' graves. They should be praying for the victims' souls and the poor families who are left behind. The families need their help.

One interesting facet was how secular Sister Prejean seemed. She's a progressive nun, who doesn't wear a habit. If she didn't say she was a nun, you wouldn't know it. She rarely spoke about religion. When she did, it was to superficially quote the bible. All religion in this movie is superficial. I actually preferred it this way, but I think it may bother some people.

One thing I liked was how they kept showing a black-and-white version of the crime. It varied depending on Poncelet's version of his story at the time, and at the end they showed the real version. This was powerful and necessary. By repeatedly showing the crime scene, they reminded you of the victims and of the kind of evil Poncelet was.

I did like the ending. The film didn't lose its way and go Hollywood as they usually do. I don't want to give it away, but it did ring true. Overall, however, I didn't really enjoy this movie. I did enjoy some aspects and scenes, but the Prejean character infuriated me--as did the defense team. The brightest spot was Sean Penn, who's wonderful. He's one of our most talented actors, and he shows it here. I believed him as Matt Poncelet, and I believed his motivations. My biggest criticism of the film was that it never moved me. This is rare for me, and it's why I rated it so low.

Reviewed by Bill Alward  Home
 

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