Dead Man Walking

Release Year: 1995

Director: Tim Robbins

Review: Is it ever justifiable to kill a man?  'Dead Man Walking' is a fantastic crime drama that examines the issue of capital punishment from both sides.  Matthew(Sean Penn), a convicted murderer on death row seeks the guidance of Sister Helen(Susan Sarandon), a nun, as his execution date approaches.  As Matthew desperately tries to clear his name and get off of death row, Sarandon guides him spiritually trying to get him to come to terms with his guilt as well as struggles with her role in a murderer's life.

Sarandon and Penn both give remarkable performances giving the film the emotional power it needs.  Without the connection between these two leads, the believability of the relationship between the convict and the nun would not be believable and the film would fall apart.  Sarandon has to carry a large burden, of being caring, without coming across as brainwashed.  She shows compassion for both sides, and highlights the moral dilemma of whether or not its justified to comfort a murderer.  The internal moral and spiritual struggle is what makes her performance great and why this film is so fascinating to watch.    

The film takes on a highly polarizing topic in capital punishment, and given the notorious liberal views of its writer/director Tim Robbins, it'd be expected to take a firm stance against the death penalty, but that would have been a far lesser film.  Instead it gives us a complex character in Matthew, and his guilt or innocence is ambiguous.  That is not the point.  It isn't about whether or not he is guilty, or reformed, but whether or not its ever ethical to put someone to death.  Rather than spin the audience in one direction, Robbins restrains himself and shows both sides to the emotionally charged debate.  A strong point is made for sympathy towards Matthew, but it never strays too far from that fact that he is not a good person.  It also shows the emotional torment that the families of the victims continue to go through.  In the end it leaves you thinking about the question rather than giving you an answer.  A film that can be so power and leave you thinking about its content long after you have finished watching is a mark of a great piece of work.

Rating: 4/5