Dead Man Walking

Dead Man Walking, directed by Tim Robbins, is the story of a nun named Helen Prejean who is assigned to help a criminal on death row named Matthew Poncelet. Sister Helen is played by Susan Sarandon and Poncelet is played by Sean Penn. I went to see Dead Man Walking last thursday at Signs and Wonders but I had no idea what it was about.The only think anybody told was 'Its good'. And just as they had said, it was good, even great. Dead Man Walking may actually be, in my opinion, the best film Signs and Wonders has shown thus far.

As I watched the movie, I found that a tension grew in me. It was very subtle, but near the end of the film I began filling a little sick to my stomach. The tension was primarily built by the countdown to Matthew Poncelet's execution, and tension is also established by the unpredictability of the entire story. You really have no idea what will happen to Mr. Poncelet until you reach the conclusion.

I think another reason I got a sort of stressed feeling was because this film purposefully creates conflicts in its viewers; almost as if you are at war with yourself. When the film starts, the audience has very little knowledge of Poncelet. We know he has been sent to jail after being declared guilty of murder and that he considers himself innocent, but we slowly learn more. As the movie progresses, we find out more about the crime that Poncelet was present for (whether he helped or not) and we slowly realize Poncelet's humanity and how we relate to him. Both of these points are continuously supported in the plot and it kind of makes your head spin.

I decided to post this picture because it is from one of my favortie scenes in the movie. When the camera is on Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon is in the reflection of the glass and when the camrea is on Susan Sarandon Sean Penn's reflection is on the glass. What I really like about this scene is how the lighting makes Susan Sarandon brighter and Sean Penn dark and mysterious; it perfectly reflects their personalities (no pun intended).

If you didn't get a chance to see Dead Man Walking last Thursday, I suggest renting it, streaming it, borrowing it, etc. because it is an interesting film and is definitely worth watching.