LoginTo be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I should definitely re-watch it at some point. In fact, I even saw it the movie theater when it was released. Well, even though this movie was critically heralded at the time, I have to admit that I actually had some mixed feelings about the damned thing. I mean, it was a very well made movie, with some really impressive performances by Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon (she even won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role) and the material was really strong but, somehow, it didn’t completely work for me. Basically, I had a really hard time with the angle they choose to approach this story. Indeed, even though it made sense since Helen Prejean was nun, they had to put some focus on the fact that Poncelet should be able to find redemption through God. Sure, he also admits his crimes and apologized to the victim’s family but there was always this religious aspect coming up throughout the whole thing and, as a result, the impact of this movie was not as a great as it could have been, at least, as far as I’m concerned. To conclude, even though I didn’t completely connect with this movie, it remains a strong drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
Dead Man Walking Reviews
An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 7 months ago on 5 October 2016 11:21
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A very powerful drama!
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 10 March 2010 04:41
Dead Man Walking is in my point of view a very typical prison story because the characters were very original of that particularly because of the theme. This was very typical because it is very emotional with a very interesting story. Dead Man Walking is a prison story of what most criminals are like today: looking for forgiveness and a way for him to be forgiven in the easiest way possible. That is one of the reasons why there was a nun involved with a prisoner. It was a very predictable story because the story just flowed and just carried on until it finished which is obviously very good and is the main priority of the story of the film and like almost every other film.
Sean Penn delivers one of his best achieved performances as Matthew Poncelet. Sean has always been extremely talented at playing sinister characters. Especially because he appears rather evil at times in other films he has been involved in the past, e.g. Mystic River. He was very emotional with a lot of upset and with a lot of heartbreak. Susan Sarandon delivers the performance of her career as Sister Helen Prejean. I could really see all of the tears and emotion running down her eyes. She was the perfect choice for portraying a character like Sister Helen Prejean. What I really like about Susan Sarandon is that she can portray characters with a lot of heartbreak and emotion no matter what type of person that character really is.
I truly underestimated Tim Robbins as a director in this film because it is a debut of directing for him and he isn't a top class actor but I do have to say that his directing in Dead Man Walking was absolutely superb. Tim Robbin's directing of Dead Man Walking reminds me a lot of how Frank Darabont directed The Shawshank Redemption. The screenplay was awesome which doesn't surprise me in slightest way whatsoever.
Dead Man Walking is definitely one of the best films of 1995. It is an absolutely awesome prison film but I prefer prison films like The Green Mile, A Clockwork Orange, The Shawshank Redemption, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Cool Hand Luke and The Bridge On The River Kwai. It isn't Sean Penn's best performance. I preferred him in Milk, Mystic River and 21 Grams. Susan Sarandon's best performance to date. Tim Robbins should quit acting and be a director instead which is one reason why this film really surprised me because I liked it a lot.
Sean Penn delivers one of his best achieved performances as Matthew Poncelet. Sean has always been extremely talented at playing sinister characters. Especially because he appears rather evil at times in other films he has been involved in the past, e.g. Mystic River. He was very emotional with a lot of upset and with a lot of heartbreak. Susan Sarandon delivers the performance of her career as Sister Helen Prejean. I could really see all of the tears and emotion running down her eyes. She was the perfect choice for portraying a character like Sister Helen Prejean. What I really like about Susan Sarandon is that she can portray characters with a lot of heartbreak and emotion no matter what type of person that character really is.
I truly underestimated Tim Robbins as a director in this film because it is a debut of directing for him and he isn't a top class actor but I do have to say that his directing in Dead Man Walking was absolutely superb. Tim Robbin's directing of Dead Man Walking reminds me a lot of how Frank Darabont directed The Shawshank Redemption. The screenplay was awesome which doesn't surprise me in slightest way whatsoever.
Dead Man Walking is definitely one of the best films of 1995. It is an absolutely awesome prison film but I prefer prison films like The Green Mile, A Clockwork Orange, The Shawshank Redemption, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Cool Hand Luke and The Bridge On The River Kwai. It isn't Sean Penn's best performance. I preferred him in Milk, Mystic River and 21 Grams. Susan Sarandon's best performance to date. Tim Robbins should quit acting and be a director instead which is one reason why this film really surprised me because I liked it a lot.
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Balanced View of Death Penalty / Death Row
Posted : 14 years, 9 months ago on 2 August 2009 09:41
I thought they did a good job showing a balanced view of death row and the death penalty in this film. Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn do an outstanding job in their roles.
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