1. DEAD MAN WALKING
Susan Sarandon earned her first and only Academy Award for her role in Tim Robbins’ sophomore directorial effort Dead Man Walking. Based on a true story, Sarandon played Sister Helen Prejean, a nun who is sent to comfort convicted killer and Death Row inmate Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn) before he is executed. What begins as a simple offer of spiritual guidance becomes an emotional struggle for Sister Helen as she finds that her sympathies lie not only with the family of the victim, but with Matthew himself.
This film could have easily been written off as an indictment of capital punishment, as both Robbins and Sarandon are outspoken liberals, but instead, Robbins takes an even-handed approach to Prejean’s story by giving both sides of the debate equal measure. Sarandon delivers a devastatingly raw performance as Sister Helen, and guides the film with a fierce conviction that never wavers. Her scenes with Penn are extraordinary and powerful. They begin with a very provocative back-and-forth, with a slight allusion to the idea that despite her selfless devotion to faith, Sister Helen may harbor some judgement toward Matthew.
Penn is equally riveting, as he sheds his tough exterior slowly with the clock ticking toward his execution. Through his dialogue with Sister Helen, he finds comfort and expresses remorse, but his fate is sealed and we must follow his journey into darkness in a harrowing sequence that culminates with a jarring and disturbing conclusion. We see these events unfold through Sarandon’s eyes, and she never looks away. It is absolutely one of the most effective and searing accounts of death and consequence in cinematic history.
