Date: Fri 16-Feb-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-10

Quick Words:

Playing-Dead-Man-Walking

Full Text:

(rev "Dead Man Walking" for Now Playing, 2/16/96)

Now Playing-

Robbins & Sarandon Emit An Uncommon Outcome In `Dead Man'

By Trey Paul Alexander III

Outside of Hollywood's liberal circle, many moviegoers are left feeling rather

nauseous when the latest "movie message" rolls into the nearest cineplex. As a

viewer, my usual dilemma is reconciling my own beliefs - which are often at

odds with those of Tinseltown - with the reality that some of these

politically correct flicks are well-executed and fairly commendable. But no

such quandry arises with Dead Man Walking , which arrives at the Bantam Cinema

on February 16 (and is also playing at other area cinemas).

Dead Man Walking is intensely powerful and uses more than pure emotional

potency to move the audience. It tackles a complex case without wavering from

some difficult issues, and in so doing, is sure to make an impact regardless

of one's stance on the death penalty.

The very concept of a new motion picture dealing with capitol punishment,

particularly one directed and written by Tim Robbins and starring Susan

Sarandon, seemed troublesome at best. Let's be honest: this is the couple

whose leftist bent led even Hollywood to sigh with impatience when, a few

years ago, the two held sway over the Oscars telecast as they rambled on about

their political views when they should have been presenting an award. Thus, a

heavy-handed, one-sided brow-beating of a film seemed sure. But astonishingly,

the outcome of their endeavors is not what one might anticipate.

Sarandon stars as Sister Helen Prejean, an unconventional Roman Catholic nun

who never wears a habit and lives and works in a lower-class Louisiana

community populated mostly by blacks. One could say fate brings her into

contact with a death row inmate seeking a spiritual advisor, but we ought to

know better. This film does, and is surprisingly unabashed in its, embrace of

Prejean's beliefs.

The character of Prejean is based on a real life nun of the same name who has

written a memoir about her experiences counseling death row criminals.

However, Matthew Poncelet (sean Penn), and the surviving family members of the

two young adults whom he is convicted of killing, are the film's fictional

composites of Prejean's true encounters.

Despite pressure from various sources who advise her to stay away, Prejean

befriends Poncelet and agrees to serve as his advocate when he claims

innocence of the horrific crime and seeks her reprieve from the death penalty.

Undaunted by friends' warnings, Prejean proceeds to help Poncelet, but finds

her task more difficult when she must also face the traumatized, angry parents

of Poncelet's alleged victims.

Call me crazy to make a comparison between the two, but Dead Man Walking and

Mr Holland's Opus both share a main protagonist who is not the steely,

seasoned purveyor of a certain, correct stance, but rather a determined yet

vulnerable soul who is learning along the way. In this movie's case, Prejean

is adamant in her convictions, but often unsure of how to implement them in a

sensitive situation. That guilelessness is endearing and rare in celluloid

portrayals of people of religious faith, who are usually coarse and bullheaded

caricatures.

Lest you get the impression Dead Man Walking is a one-person show, let me also

tout the performance of Penn, who, along with Sarandon, was rightfully

nominated this week for Best Acting honors (director Robbins also received an

Oscar nomination). A critic for USA Today said it well when he noted that

Penn's triumph is in humanizing Poncelet without trying to make us esteem him.

Truly, one of the marvels of the film is its ability to touch us and help us

sympathize with and embrace the various characters without absolving anyone,

particularly the convict, of their wrongs. Dead Man Walking , rated R for

strong language and some violent scenes (brief flashbacks of a brutal crime),

is an uncommon motion picture and one that comes with a high recommendation.