Dead Man Walking (1995)
Dead Man Walking follows Sean Penn, an admitted rapist and murderer, as he gets sentenced to the death penalty and lives out his time. He wants the parents of the girl he murdered to forgive him so he can die in peace, and a nun/social worker acts as his liaison to the outside world. Susan Sarandon won an Academy Award for her performance, but everyone knows it was a make-up Oscar for 1992’s Lorenzo’s Oil. Out of her vast body of work, Dead Man Walking was not her finest hour.
Dead Man Walking is a love-it-or-lump-it kind of film. If you believe in its message, you’ll recommend it to your friends and talk about it at dinner parties. If you don’t, everything about it will bother you. As much as writer-director Tim Robbins probably hoped it would be powerful enough to change those awful Republicans’ minds, it won’t change anyone’s mind. If you are against capital punishment, this movie will boil your blood and make you take your picket signs to the streets. You’ll think Susan’s character’s a saint and everyone, even the most despicable soul of Sean, deserves forgiveness.
It's not my intent to give this movie a bad review because of my social stances, although you can probably guess how I feel. Rather, I don’t consider it a top-tier film because it is too wrapped up in its own righteousness to offer a convincing argument. If the writer, director, and cast want to appeal to the enemy and make them switch their allegiance, they need to understand what would change the minds of the other side. Dead Man Walking is a one-sided message movie, and it is highly regarded because the Hollywood crew agrees with its message. If you’re looking for a Susan Sarandon movie that might change your mind on capital punishment, rent The Exonerated.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to adult content, violence, and rape, I wouldn’t let my kids watch it.
More Susan Sarandon movies here!
Dead Man Walking is a love-it-or-lump-it kind of film. If you believe in its message, you’ll recommend it to your friends and talk about it at dinner parties. If you don’t, everything about it will bother you. As much as writer-director Tim Robbins probably hoped it would be powerful enough to change those awful Republicans’ minds, it won’t change anyone’s mind. If you are against capital punishment, this movie will boil your blood and make you take your picket signs to the streets. You’ll think Susan’s character’s a saint and everyone, even the most despicable soul of Sean, deserves forgiveness.
It's not my intent to give this movie a bad review because of my social stances, although you can probably guess how I feel. Rather, I don’t consider it a top-tier film because it is too wrapped up in its own righteousness to offer a convincing argument. If the writer, director, and cast want to appeal to the enemy and make them switch their allegiance, they need to understand what would change the minds of the other side. Dead Man Walking is a one-sided message movie, and it is highly regarded because the Hollywood crew agrees with its message. If you’re looking for a Susan Sarandon movie that might change your mind on capital punishment, rent The Exonerated.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to adult content, violence, and rape, I wouldn’t let my kids watch it.
More Susan Sarandon movies here!