Dead Man Walking (1995)

A nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families.

Director:

Tim Robbins

Writers:

Helen Prejean (book) (as Sister Helen Prejean C.S.J.), Tim Robbins

Stars:

Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Robert Prosky

Won 1 Oscar. Another 22 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Susan Sarandon	...	Sister Helen Prejean
Sean Penn	...	Matthew Poncelet
Robert Prosky	...	Hilton Barber
Raymond J. Barry	...	Earl Delacroix
R. Lee Ermey	...	Clyde Percy
Celia Weston	...	Mary Beth Percy
Lois Smith	...	Helen's Mother
Scott Wilson	...	Chaplain Farley
Roberta Maxwell	...	Lucille Poncelet
Margo Martindale	...	Sister Colleen
Barton Heyman	...	Captain Beliveau
Steve Boles	...	Sgt. Neal Trapp
Nesbitt Blaisdell	...	Warden Hartman
Ray Aranha	...	Luis Montoya
Larry Pine	...	Guy Gilardi

Storyline

A convicted murderer on Death Row and the nun who befriends him. Through the portrayal of finely drawn characters and their interactions as the days, hours, and minutes tick down to the condemned man's execution, powerful emotions are unleashed. While Matthew Poncelet and Sister Prejean desperately try to gain a stay of execution from the governor or the courts, scenes are intercut from the brutal crime, gradually revealing the truth about the events that transpired. In addition to her temporal help, the nun also tries to reach out spiritually and assist as a guide to salvation.

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Plot Keywords:

nun | solitary confinement | execution | capital punishment | repentance | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a depiction of a rape and murder

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 February 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

La dernière marche

Filming Locations:

Angola, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$118,266, 29 December 1995, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$39,387,284

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$83,088,295

Company Credits

Production Co:

Havoc, Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Working Title Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is one of several movies where Susan Sarandon's character as a child is played by her daughter Eva Amurri Martino.

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Goofs

When Sister Helen is talking to Hilton Barber outside the court house just after the first clemency hearing, he calls her "Susan" for Susan Sarandon instead of "Helen".

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Quotes

Sister Helen Prejean: You are a son of God.
Matthew Poncelet: [in tears] Thank you. I've never been called a son of God before.
[laughs slightly]
Matthew Poncelet: I've been called a son of a you-know-what plenty of times, but I've never been called a son of God.

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Crazy Credits

In the heart-shaped symbol at the end of the credits, the initials EMLA, JHR, MGR, and SS stand for Tim Robbins' family with Susan Sarandon (SS) -- Jack Henry Robbins and Miles Guthrie Robbins (their two sons together) and Eva Maria Livia Amurri (Sarandon's daughter with Franco Amurri).

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Connections

Referenced in Monk: Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing (2006)

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Soundtracks

Shadow
(1993)
Performed & Written by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Courtesy of Real World Records Ltd.

User Reviews

Watershed

I haven't seen many films that really, truly made me rethink a long-held position or opinion on a thorny issue, but "Dead Man Walking" is one of them.

I read Sr. Helen Prejean's book, upon which this film was based, when it first came out in 1993. At that time I was utterly supportive of capital punishment -- to quote the script, I felt anyone who committed crimes horrible enough to land them on Death Row was an "expendable human being, suckin' up tax dollars." I also had personal experience with the issue when an entire family whom I knew in my childhood were slaughtered by a man who is now on Death Row for his crimes.

As you might imagine, I was disgusted with Sr. Helen's book. I thought that trotting to death row and holding the hand of some scumbag who'd killed innocent people was about the lowest thing anyone could do, and as a Catholic I was offended by the seeming hypocrisy of it.

Because I had disliked the book, I never saw the film until about two weeks ago, when I bought a remaindered copy of it in a video store. I have watched it four times since then, mostly because I am trying to work out my feelings on it. I am still a supporter of capital punishment, but it's going to be less easy for me to ignore the fact that (to quote again), "There's nobody with money on Death Row" -- and quite a few more blacks, now that I think of it, AND the fact that, like Matthew Poncelet's character, the men who are being executed are human beings who have feelings and fears. It's easy to jeer at Matthew on the day before his execution, fretting nervously about whether the lethal injection will "hurt," like a little boy at the doctor's office for a penicillin shot, since his victims' last moments certainly "hurt." What isn't easy is to realize that while the victims of these inmates didn't know they were about to die until it was too late, the inmates themselves have what seems like a blessing at first, but upon deeper examination is the greatest curse: knowing the exact hour and day they will die, and having to face it day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.

I'm sorry if this review offends people who are sincere death penalty supporters. I still consider myself to be one, but my thinking has been reformed somewhat and I'm more ready to listen to the opponents and try to make compromises; maybe that's what this issue needs more than anything. I will say finally that ONE part of this film did offend me as a Catholic: the symbolic "crucifixion" of Poncelet during the "last words" scene. That was the one place where Robbins strayed from his even-handed approach to the issue -- the only one I could find.

In all, this was a fine film that made me rethink an explosive issue, and I recommend it highly to anyone debating the pros and cons.