Dead Man Walking

    Incredible movie!
    This film was actually one of the best "Christian" movies I've ever seen. I actually surprised Christian filmmakers don't take their cues from movies like this. Maybe it's because they're too focused on preaching about God's grace and forgiveness to tell stories about God's grace and forgiveness.
    The movie is about a nun who becomes the spiritual advisor to a man on death row for the murder of two teenagers. To put it simply, the guy's a total scumbag. But as the movie reveals more and more about the convict's backstory and character, we are treated to a rather unsettling truth:
    He's just as human as we are.
    The man's name is Matthew Poncelet. He has three brothers and a caring mother. Throughout the movie, we see all different sides of him. We see him as an unrepentant thug, a big brother and son, and also as a lost soul. Pulling all that off is a wonder to behold.
    The film's strength, I think, lay in the fact that it actually is a rare movie that gives proper weight to both sides of a complicated issue. This film could have easily fallen into a simple anti-death penalty tirade but it also give proper weight to the pro-death penalty side. Even as we watch an excruciating scene of Matthew being executed, we also see intercut with that the crime he committed in all it's brutality and cruelty. The film simply wouldn't be governed by either side.
    If you missed the film, you can rent it in Becker 2nd in the movie library and watch it on a weekend. Whatever works, but you have to see this movie. It's simply terrific.