A stellar cast is the chief appeal of The Exonerated, director Bob Balaban's film adaptation of Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's true-life stage play. Susan Sarandon, Danny Glover, Brian Dennehy, Aidan Quinn, and Delroy Lindo portray five of the six people (the sixth is played by newcomer David Brown, Jr.) who were convicted of crimes they didn't commit and spent years on various death rows before their cases were re-examined and new evidence led to their being set free. Performing a script pieced together from actual court transcripts, depositions, letters, and interviews, each of the six, some of them accompanied by a spouse, recounts his or her story from beginning (crime, arrest, and conviction) to end (i.e., exculpation and readjustment to the outside world, where they must "practice to be human again"). Some of the material is pretty shocking, reflecting outrageously inept and/or prejudicial work on the part of law enforcement, legal representatives, and/or court officials; for instance, the lawyer for Kerry Max Cook (Quinn), who was locked up for over 20 years on a patently bogus rape-murder conviction, was a former district attorney who had twice prosecuted him in the past. Other characters are introduced via occasional re-enactments of police interrogations, trial testimony, and such, but for the most part it's the six principals who dominate the screen. That's a mixed blessing; although placing the actors against black, blank backdrops and bathing them in holy light is certainly dramatic, the result is somewhat static and, not surprisingly, very theatrical (The Exonerated had over 600 off-Broadway performances, in addition to national tours). Nevertheless, its impact is considerable--especially when the real "exonerees" appear onscreen at the end. Extra features include bios and interviews with the writers and actors. --Sam Graham
Starring: Brian Dennehy, Danny Glover, Delroy Lindo, Aidan Quinn, Susan Sarandon, David Brown Jr. Written By: Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen
Directed By: Bob Balaban
Sixteen years. Imagine everything you could do with sixteen years.
Imagine everything you did the last sixteen years.
Now take it all away.
Sunny Jacobs was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime she did not commit. Sixteen years was just the beginning of what was taken from Sunny Jacobs.
Twenty-nine Academy Award nominations, eighty-seven Golden Globe nominations, one hundred and twelve EMMY nominations: such is the incredible array of actors who have lent their considerable talents and passion to The Exonerated. As a play, awarded the Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards, it was acclaimed in major cities across America.
Now as a film, the undeniable power of the true stories of six exonerated survivors of death row will engage your emotion, incite your passion, and envelop you in their search for the lost small pieces of dignity and the lives so unceremoniously interrupted.
True stories in their own words. Stories you will never forget.
Seen on Court TV
DVD Features:
Actor's soundbites
From the writers
Bios & Background
Amazing Grace performed by Lyle Lovett
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