Themes: Death Row, Members of the Clergy, Redemption
Main Cast: Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry, R. Lee Ermey
Release Year: 1995
Country: US
Run Time: 120 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Tim Robbins' second directorial effort (after the political satire Bob Roberts) was this drama based on a true story, which explores the issue of capital punishment. Sister Helen Prejean (Susan Sarandon) is a nun and teacher living in rural Louisiana. One day, she receives a letter from Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn), who is scheduled to be executed soon for the rape and murder of two teenagers. After meeting Matthew, Sister Helen agrees to serve as spiritual counselor and see what she can do to stay the execution. However, Matthew's claims of innocence seem shaky at best, and it's clear he's a reprehensible, amoral racist. When it becomes obvious that Matthew's sentence will be carried out, Sister Helen offers what comfort she can to Matthew, but also tries to guide him to an open admission of the extent of his crimes and an acceptance of divine forgiveness, telling him "I want the last face you see to be the face of love." Susan Sarandon won an Oscar for her performance as Sister Prejean, and Sean Penn was similarly nominated for Best Actor as Matthew. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
A startling and provocative achievement, Dead Man Walking manages the not insubstantial feat of making an eloquent statement against the death penalty while refusing to excuse the killer of his crimes. Preferring to make a case for humanity and the capacity for human forgiveness, writer/director Tim Robbins avoids the self-righteous moralizing that often mars "message" movies. Instead of vilifying those on either side of the death penalty issue, he paints an even portrait of the rage, grief, and complexity in the arguments of both camps. Although Dead Man Walking is remarkable for Robbins' presentation of the many moral and personal issues surrounding the death penalty, it is most memorable for the performances of Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. Penn, in particular, manages to be reprehensible and charismatic all at once: as hateful as he is, the audience cannot look away from him. He makes an initially vile character ultimately sympathetic without resorting to sentiment or manipulation. The performance is uncompromising: never once do we see him try to vie for the audience's sympathy, and his eventual salvation comes on his terms alone. For her part, Sarandon turns in one of the best performances of her career. Her Sister Prejean is both drawn to and repelled by Poncelet, and Sarandon captures these conflicting emotions with honesty and grace. Rather than make Prejean a saint, Sarandon plays her as an unwaveringly decent but flawed human being. She is smart enough to realize the repercussions of her support of Poncelet but compassionate enough to believe that her brand of Christianity must have as much room for those who have sinned as for those who have been sinned against. Thanks to her portrayal and that of Penn, Dead Man Walking is carried by two performances that don't seem to have a hint of acting about them. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Celia Weston - Mary Beth Percy; Ray Aranha - Luis Montoya; Lenore Banks - Parent #4; Nesbitt Blaisdell - Warden Hartman; Steve Boles - Sgt. Neal Trapp; Clancy Brown - State Trooper; Steve Carlisle - Helen's Brother; Kevin Cooney - Governor Benedict; Michael Cullen - Carl Vitello; Alec Gifford - Reporter #3; Barton Heyman - Captain Beliveau; Amy Long - Opossum Kid #3; Mike Longman - News Anchor; Margo Martindale - Sister Colleen; Roberta Maxwell - Lucille Poncelet; Cortez Nance, Jr. - Guard #3; Adam Nelson - Guard #4; Larry Pine - Guy Gilardi; Sally Ann Roberts - Reporter #2; Lois Smith - Helen's Mother; Scott Wilson - Chaplain Farley; Adele Robbins - Nurse; Jack Black - Craig Poncelet; Pamela Garmon - Mirabeau; Scott Sowers - Guard #2; Peter Sarsgaard - Walter Delacroix
Credit
Tom Warren - Art Director, Allan Nicholls - Associate Producer, Mark Seldis - Associate Producer, Bob White - Associate Producer, Douglas Aibel - Casting, Renee Ehrlich Kalfus - Costume Designer, Tim Robbins - Director, Lisa Churgin - Editor, Tim Bevan - Executive Producer, Eric Fellner - Executive Producer, David Robbins - Composer (Music Score), Bruce Springsteen - Composer (Music Score), Tom Waits - Composer (Music Score), Michael Bigger - Makeup, Richard Hoover - Production Designer, Roger Deakins - Cinematographer, Tim Robbins - Producer, Jon Kilik - Producer, Rudd Simmons - Producer, Tim Baven - Producer, Laurie Friedman - Set Designer, Tod A. Maitland - Sound/Sound Designer, Tim Robbins - Screenwriter
Matthew Poncelet has been in prison six years, awaiting his execution by lethal injection for killing a teenage couple. He committed the crime in company with a man named Carl Vitello, who received a lighter sentence as a result of being able to pay for a better lawyer.
Now Poncelet appeals to Sister Helen as the day of his execution comes closer and closer. He wants her to help him with a final appeal.
She decides to visit him, and he comes across as arrogant, sexist and racist, apparently not even pretending to feeling any kind of remorse. Instead he affirms his innocence, insisting it was Carl who killed the two teenagers.
Convincing an experienced attorney to take on Matthew's case pro bono, Sister Helen tries to achieve lifelong confinement for Poncelet. Over time, after many visits, she establishes a special relationship with him.
While doing that she gets to know Poncelet’s mother and the victims’ families. The victims’ families don’t understand Sister Helen's efforts to help Poncelet, claiming she is "taking his side." Instead they desire "absolute justice," as they call it, namely his life for the lives of their children.
Sister Helen’s application is declined, so the day of the execution comes closer and closer. The only salvation for Poncelet is – so Sister Prejean thinks – a confession.
It’s not until the end he admits having killed the boy and raped the girl. Just before his execution, he appeals to the boy's parents for forgiveness and tells the girl's parents he hopes his death brings them peace. In the end, Poncelet is administered lethal injection and given a proper burial. The murdered boy's father attends the ceremony and begins to pray with Sister Helen, ending the film.
The film consolidates two different people whom Prejean counseled on Death Row into one character, as well as merging their crimes and their victims' families into one event. Lesser details were also removed to shorten the length of the film.
In reality, Elmo Patrick Sonnier (Poncelet in the adaptation) was executed in the electric chair. Director Tim Robbins opted to use lethal injection in the adaptation because, as stated by Sister Helen in an interview, "He took away the electric chair and said we need to use lethal injection because we don't want to give people the moral out whereby people could say 'oh well, we used to do electrocution but that's too barbaric so now we are humane and inject them'". [1]
