Dead Man Walking (film)
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| Dead Man Walking | |
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 Dead Man Walking film poster |
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| Directed by | Tim Robbins |
| Produced by | Jon Kilik Tim Robbins Rudd Simmon |
| Written by | Helen Prejean (book Dead Man Walking as Sister Helen Prejean C.S.J.) Tim Robbins |
| Starring | Susan Sarandon Sean Penn Robert Prosky Lois Smith |
| Distributed by | Gramercy Pictures U.S. |
| Release date(s) | December 29, 1995 U.S. release |
| Running time | 122 min. |
| Country |  United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Dead Man Walking is a 1995 film based on the book of the same name, which tells the story of Sister Helen Prejean (played by Susan Sarandon), who establishes a special relationship with Matthew Poncelet, a prisoner on death row (played by Sean Penn).
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[edit] Plot
Matthew Poncelet has been in prison six years, awaiting his execution by lethal injection for killing a teenaged couple along with a man named Vitello. His partner in crime has received a better 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 an arrogant, sexist racist who doesn’t even pretend feeling any kind of remorse. Instead he affirms his innocence. She tries to achieve lifelong confinement for Matthew Poncelet. Time after time she establishes a special relationship with Matthew Poncelet. While doing that she gets to know Poncelet’s mother and the victims’ families. Especially the vicitms’ families don’t understand Sister Helen and her effort for Poncelet. Instead they desire absolute justice, as they call it. Sister Helen’s application is declined, so the day of the execution comes closer and closer. The only salvation for Poncelet is – so does Sister Prejan think – a confession. It’s not until the end that he refuses having killed the boy and the girl, but in the moment of his execution he confesses his awful crime and asks the victims’ parents for forgiveness. Then the lethal injection is induced.
[edit] Cast and awards
Susan Sarandon won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role. Sean Penn was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Tim Robbins for Best Director and its main track, " Dead Man Walkin' " by Bruce Springsteen for Best Song.
The movie also stars Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry, R. Lee Ermey, and Scott Wilson. Robbins adapted the story himself from Sister Prejean's autobiographical account.
[edit] Adaptation
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 found linked below, "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]
[edit] Other versions
In 2002, Tim Robbins, who adapted the book for the film, also wrote a stage version of Dead Man Walking.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Dead Man Walking at the Internet Movie Database
- Dead Man Walking at the Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films list
- Dead Man Walking at Rotten Tomatoes
- Interview with Sister Helen Prejean
- Dead Man Walking review from Entertainment Weekly
- "Entertainment Watch: Dead Man Walking" from AmericanCatholic.org, April 1996 James Arnold's Catholic view on the film
- Sister Helen Prejean: The Real Woman Behind "Dead Man Walking" by John Bookser Feister from AmericanCatholic.org
- Movie stills
- Lyrics and detailed info for the theme song "Dead Man Walkin'"
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