The Next Three Days
Tags: suspenseful, mystery, neo noir, murder

Plot synopsis:
The credits roll with John Brennan (Russel Crowe) driving a Prius. He has a passenger who is making moaning sounds about how he can't breathe. Suddenly, the guy stops moaning.Titles say "Last three years." John and Lara Brennan (Elizabeth Banks), and his brother Mick (Michael Buie) and wife Erit (Moran Atias) are out to dinner and it is not going well. Erit and Lara are fighting over whether it's a good idea for women to work for other women and it turns into a real nasty verbal cat fight. Lara has just had a big fight with her boss. John and Lara head home, relieve the sitter, and make out. Next morning, she injects herself with insulin. As she's getting ready, she notices a spot on her rain jacket and is washing it out in the sink - just as she realizes that it's blood, the police storm in and arrest her for the murder of her boss. Their 3 year old son Luke (Tyler & Toby Green) is bawling.Three years later, John is a community college teacher who is teaching English. He tries to manage his job and raising Luke (now 7 and played by Tyler Simpkins). Lara is in the Alleghaney County jail (Pittsburgh, PA), having been convicted of the murder. Her case is on appeal. She's allowed contact visits and he brings Luke to the jail. Lara's story is that she physically bumped into someone in the parking garage at her work who must have been the actual killer. She heard a button pop.Lara's lawyer (Daniel Stern) tells John that all hope is lost. John tells Lara. She attempts suicide. During the next three months, he resolves to spring her out and leave the country and starts to make a plan.He gets library books about prison life and how to escape. He meets with Damon Pennington (Liam Neeson), an ex-con who gives him some tips. He has 15 minutes to get out of the centre of the city and 35 minutes to get out of the metro region, in this case, Pittsburgh. He will need three passports, a social security card that will pass a credit check and driver's licenses. He will also need money to live off because without money he will have no friends. He needs a foreign getaway such as Yemen, with poor relations with the USA. Penningtion tells him to look for ways to break the jail routines. Pennington also says that if he does this, he must decide that he is a guy who is willing to shoot a guard and run over a lady with a stroller, and if he's not, then don't start because he'll just get someone hurt.He starts scouting, scoping the jail, the routine, taking pictures, making maps, planning.John buys oxy-contin from street dealers and asks them about fake IDs. One dealer directs him to a noisy bar to see another guy, but he gets beaten and robbed.While he's at the park with Luke, he meets Nicole (Olivia Wilde), a divorced woman with a girl about Luke's age.He sees a video on the Internet about how to make a bump key. He tries to make a bump key, but it gets jammed when he tries to use it in a practice run on the jail elevator. He tries to move it, but the key breaks off in the lock. The jail sergeant interrogates him, he denies being by the elevator (the surveilance video was not clear). He vomits when he walks out of the jail. The cops who investigated his wife (Aisha Hinds and Jason Beghe) see him throw up and go visit him at his house, but he doesn't answer the door. John puts the house on the market.He often leaves Luke with his parents (Hellen Carey and Bryan Dennehy) over the weekend. John is upset his mother doesn't seem to believe Lara is innocent.While scouting, he notices a medical van visit the jail. He reads on the Internet how you can use a tennis ball with a hole in it to open a car door. While the driver is in inside a building, he breaks into the vehicle, photos a copy of Lara's blood work. At home he photoshops the blood work report so that Lara's glucose level looks dangerously high.A deaf guy (Zachary Sondrini) who was in the bar where he got jumped tells John that he read his lips and that he'll make the IDs for a fee. He gets the IDs from him, but the deaf guy warns him that he wants it too much after John doesn't follow his instructions regarding their meeting.John buys a gun.Luke and John see Nicole and her daughter at a park again and they invite Luke to the daughter's 7th birthday party. John admits his wife is in jail for murder.Suddenly, Lara is being moved to prison in three days.John's dad can tell that something is up and sees plane tickets and passports among his papers. He shakes his hand and gives him a hug, implying that he knows what he's up to and that he has his blessing.John only has a couple of grand. He can't get the house to close any faster. He parks near a bank and puts on a baseball hat and sunglasses. The bank guard opens the door for a lady with a stroller and he chickens out, backs out without looking and almost hits a mom and her child. He decides to follow a drug dealer and tails the bright red Challenger. He charges the meth lab house with his gun and tries to find out where the money stash is. He shoots the leader in the arm to show he means business and sets the house on fire with alcohol. The leader claims his kid is upstairs and dashes off, John follows warily. After a short gunfight the leader is dead and the street dealer is badly wounded. John finds an open safe of cash and fills a duffel bag. He starts to leave, but the dealer begs him not to let him die here. Backing out John breaks his tail lamp lens. Back to the scene from the credits. John leaves the dealer's body on a transit bench.In the morning John and Luke pack up. John tears down his planning wall collage and puts one garbage bag in the neighbor's bin, the other down the street. John breaks into the medical van with Luke in the car, swaps Lara's blood work results, cuts the phone lines at the lab. John then drops Luke two hours early at the birthday party, says he needs to run some errands. He tells Nicole that Luke's grandparents' phone number is in his jacket, in case John is late.At the hospital a doctor sees the lab report and tries to call the lab for confirmation, but they get a busy signal. They decide to transport Lara to a hospital asap.Lieutenant Nabulsi is supervising the detectives who investigated the murder for which Lara was convicted and also the murders of the drug dealer. They view the charred meth lab house. The cops find the broken tail lamp lens. Six Priuses are registered to felons including a murderer and a rapist. Murderer is incarcerated. Rapist is out. Rapist is in a wheel chair. Check the murderer - does she have a husband or child of driving age? Yes - it's Lara's car and guess what? She just got transported to the hospital.Nabulsi has his officers call the escort. They say everything is secure. But, Nabulsi runs to the hospital anyway. Then John bursts in with a gun, gets everyone in the room tied up, gets Lara to put on civilian clothes (several layers). She is not a happy camper. Tries to talk him out of it. He threatens her that she needs to call Luke and tell him not to expect her he's waiting for her. Then she's with him. They walk quickly through the hospital, first with white lab coats, which they ditch to try to throw the cops off their trail. They come face to face with Nabulsi but manage to escape in the eleavtor. They change clothes several times. They blend in with the crowd, but Nabulsi is on their tail. They board a commuter train. Nabulsi just misses them and chases the train on foot and tries to get it stopped. John stops the train with the eestop. He and Lara jump off. He had previously cut a hole in a chain link fence. They hop into a Chevy Traverse SUV that he has rented earlier and parked there. They just get over the bridge before the police get it blocked off.They drive to the party to pick Luke up. Luke's not there, Nicole has taken all the kids to the zoo. They'll be back in an hour. They start to drive to the zoo. They're running out of time on the 35 minute window. At the last second, he ditches the zoo plan and enters an interstate. He explains about road blocks and that they will come back for Luke somehow later. Lara opens the car door, apparently attempting suicide and lets herself fall. John grabs her and manages to control the spinning SUV. After a reconcilatory pause they drive off, take the next exit and head to the zoo. John finds Luke without any trouble in the aquarium room at the zoo. Nicole sees Lara in the vehicle, the family get in the SUV and drive to a train station.Nabulsi tells his chief on the phone that he's sorry the Mayor was delayed in a roadblock, he had only ordered his cops to stop couples with a kid not every car. When John approaches a toll booth road block they are waved through, it turns out that they had picked up an elderly couple.Nabulsi's detectives find John's garbage and are trying to piece together the plan he had mounted on a wall. They think they have figured out that they are headed to Haiti. The family drops off the seniors in Buffalo and go through airport security with the fake passports, John is trembling nervously so Lara takes charge, they manage to get on the plane.The police interrogate John's father but he claims ignorance and says he never talked with his son.Later, at the parking garage murder scene, Detective Quinn ponders and imagines how the murder could have occurred with Lara's story. A junkie mugger slammed a fire extinguisher into Lara's boss's head. As Lara walked to her adjacent car, she physically bumps into the mugger. Lara picks up the fire extinguisher because it is blocking her car but can't see the body on the far side of her car. She leaves the parking garage. A man sees her leave and the boss's body. It was raining that night, and it's raining tonight too. The male detective drops a piece of paper to see where the button would have gone (off of the junkie's jacket Lara said she heard a button pop). It ends up in a catch basin by the curb. The detectives lift the grate off but don't see a button, but it's there. The cops decide to drop it and return to regular work.At his home, John's father opens an atlas and flips to the Caribbean coast of South America, he smiles.John, Lara, and Luke are in a hotel room in Venezuela. Luke has finally kissed his mom goodnight again as Lara and Luke sleep blissfully on the bed and John takes a picture.

Review: With the help of Haggis' strong direction and a very good performance by Crow, we're treated to two hours of action, where one doesn't have to do a lot of thinking, just watching Crowe dodge bullet after bullet and cheer him along to the nail-biting end.The main reason the film works is Crowe gives it his best, scene after scene his eyes tells us his character is committed to his family, and he will stand by them no matter what.
The Next Three Days The best films are those where you are introduced to characters who do the unpredictable believably, or people you think will be key players die in the opening scene, someone you least expect turns out to be the murderer, these are the films that keep you guessing and keep you involved.
Russel Crowe plays John and Elizabeth Banks plays his wife.one night she is arrested for murder.after years of fighting with the legal system to try to free her,he learns she will be sent to prison for life in three days.now he must find a way to stop that from happening.this movie is full of suspense and intensity.it's tightly written(Paul Haggis wrote the screenplay)and well directed by Paul Haggis.the acting is superb from both Russel Crowe and Elizabeth Banks,who continues to show her flair as a dramatic actress.Daniel Stern had a small role,but was very impressive as well.this is a film i'd definitely watch again.for me,The Next Three Days is a 7/10.
Elizabeth Banks's role as the imprisoned wife is slightly under-written; their cute toddler son steals most of her scenes and even some of Russell's.The plot takes too long to set up, so the first half of the film is a slow haul.
In Pittsburgh, the family man and community college teacher John Brennan (Russell Crowe) has his life turned upside down when his beloved wife Lara Brennan (Elizabeth Banks) is arrested, accused for murdering her boss, and sent to the Allegheny County Jail.
"See it twice and call me in the morning." Good work all around I don't what it takes out of Russell Crowe to make a movie like this and be in a real honest form, seemingly on the verge of a nervous break the entire time.
STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning A re-make of a recent French thriller, involving a man called John Brennan (Russell Crowe), an English teacher whose wife Lara (Elizabeth Banks) is suddenly arrested on suspicion of murdering her boss.
Seeing no other way out, John begins to plot an elaborate escape plan that will require all his cunning.It's weird (and a little ironic) that I would probably have enjoyed The Next Three Days more if I hadn't seen the original (and especially so recently) and probably wouldn't have enjoyed films like Insomnia and The Vanishing so much if I'd seen the original foreign versions of those first.
A fine actor, he is left to carry a lot of the film on his own, while co stars including Liam Neeson as 'the man with the plan' and Brit star Lennie James get very minor, secondary roles.It's certainly slick and glossy enough, but director Paul Haggis can't infuse it with the same sort of gripping intensity that he did with his superior In the Valley of Elah.
And not only is it thrilling, but it also gave me lots to think about long after the credits rolled.Russell Crowe plays John, a man whose wife is convicted of murder.
It got me thinking about a lot of things, including the moral dilemmas John faces.There is a great Liam Neeson cameo where he gives John advice, since he has escaped from prison several times before.
Haggis is great at throwing in little clues and nuances in the performances that made me question and re-think things.John is obviously a good guy, so I was rooting for him to succeed, but it is hard to know how to really feel about his character.
I can tell that Haggis understands what the viewer will be thinking and feeling during the experience and he times things perfectly to make for a fun, exciting, and thoughtful experience.Beside the writing, the acting was also very good.
The only other criticism I can think of, is that Haggis clearly is a great writer who understands the story and did a fabulous job directing the actors and their actions, but there is not a lot of creativity or style in the way things were filmed.
The pacing and action are just right and the performances turned in by the whole cast is remarkably good.As one would expect from an actor with his credentials, Russell Crowe does a superb job with his part as John Brennan, the lost, forlorn and increasingly desperate husband of a woman he deeply believes is innocent of a crime she has been convicted of.
After last weeks disappointment because of not reading the reviews on 'Skyline' I decided to go in depth for this one.Crowe who plays a divvy, straight-head school teacher really pulls you along with his character even some times making me cringe with the actual things he does and shouldn't be doing whilst committing himself to acts of crime.His wife also does a good job and gives you the full feeling that these people actually shouldn't be doing this!
The son doesn't really say much he just appears as necessary to remind you that he the drop the kid off at school and go to work come home at five father whilst his mums away.From the beginning you get the simple story then it doesn't take long for this film to do its job and crack on with some good acting with some good scenes.A good job all round plot, cast, acting, not a big budget movie with car chases and explosions just a good plausible watchable movie x.
'THE NEXT THREE DAYS': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five) Two time Academy Award winner Paul Haggis (Best screenplay winner for 'MILLION DOLLAR BABY' in 2004 and 'CRASH', one of my all time favorite films, in 2005) writes and directs this prison break film starring Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks.
I found the film to be pretty entertaining but if you go into it looking for something like 'CRASH' or 'MILLION DOLLAR BABY' you're going to be disappointed (Although personally I'm not the biggest fan of 'MILLION DOLLAR BABY').The film tells the story of a woman named Lara Brennan (Banks) who is accused of murder and sentenced to twenty years in prison.
By doing so he puts not only himself at risk but his young son Luke (Ty Simpkins) and the whole time it's unclear to the viewer whether his wife is in fact innocent.Russell Crowe is one of Hollywood's finest actors (his chameleon like abilities to transform himself from one role to another is hard to match) and his performance in this film lives up to his standards, not one of his best but not disappointing either.
Obviously this will not be an award contender in any way come awards time but it is an entertaining thrill ride.Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=003J1CrnYDk. a husband goes out to free his wife from imprisonment..
Russel Crowe has truly outdone himself.A story of a man's desperation to get his family back together as he finds that life is not worth living without his beloved....he is forced by dire circumstances to take matters into his own hands when all evidences point to the fact that his wife had murdered her boss.....He is ready to challenge the entire FBI police squad and defy whoever dares criticizes his decisions even when they happened to be his own parents.....All in all a suspense-filled, heart wrenching tale which deserves an applause!
Not an prison escape action movie, the relationships of Banks/Crowe is hardly explored, and not much really happens during the 2+ hours.
It has been "americanized", if you want to call it that, but Paul Haggis and Russell Crowe are there to make sure, it does not get out of hand too much.But to tell you the truth, I'm pretty sure that most people will not even have heard of the Original French movie.
The last 30-40 minutes is unbearably tense.Russell Crowe, as usual, is very good in the lead role, playing schoolteacher "John Brennan." Elizabeth Banks is riveting in her scenes as John's wife "Lara," who is charged and convicted of murder.After it appears all hope is lost, Brennan - with a ton of obstacles ahead of him - tries the impossible: break his wife out of jail and flee the country with her and their young son.
Being a big fan of the show Prison Break, I generally enjoy this style of film/show and thought that this movie had a lot of potential, but by the end, it just seemed like a cheap imitation.
The characters were not particularly believable, especially Russel Crowe, who had a pretty sub par performance compared to some of the great movies he's previously starred in.
Russell Crowe again plays the reliable everyman and when his beloved wife is accused of murder his resolve is tested as he sets out to first prove her innocence and then to break her out of prison.The films tone is decidedly muted despite the obvious brashness of the plotting, a fact that gives the film most of its weight.
In one of the films stronger moments we watch as Russell Crowe's John Brennan toys with his students and the audience as he bleeds 'Could it be about how rational thought destroys your soul?
Even though it was not as enthralling as I would expect from Paul Haggis it was interesting to watch John Brennan (Russell Crowe) go desperate through the plot and inspiring that he never lost hope.
Russell Crowe gives a strong performance as a man planning to break his wife out of jail after she is convicted of murder.I was surprised and pleased to see that this film really engages with the emotional impact of the situation and how Crowe's character has to change to live with the decisions he feels compelled to make.Elizabeth Banks also gives a strong performance as Crowe's wife; getting just the right edge of appeal and uncertainty into her character.
The movie also contains elements of intrigue, mystery, and nail biting suspense.Russell Crowe's performance is excellent; he transforms the somewhat unrealistic character shift, from mild mannered teacher to desperate husband and prospective savior, into a wholly believable scenario.Elizabeth Banks is also excellent as the selfless wife and mother.How far would you go to 'rescue' and be re-united with the one you love?
When wife Lara (Elizabeth Banks) is imprisoned for 20 years on a murder charge (her guilt/innocence is unknown until later on in the movie), husband John (Russell Crowe) hatches a scheme to break her out and take their son Luke out of the country to start a new life together.
Along the way, John Brennan gets advice from a former prison escapee (Liam Neeson), must piece together a plan, and then finally decide if he deems himself capable of pulling it off.This movie will not immediately jump to the top of your "all-time favorites" list.
This film is not as tense or emotional-provoking as Crash but it still displays those elements very effectively.This film is about a schoolteacher who after trying to use legal means to get his wife out of prison and fails, he begins to use criminal methods to save his wife from life in prison in a race against time.Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks gives all they got in this film and it works.
John Brennan (Russell Crowe) and his wife Lara (Elizabeth Banks) have a pretty good life.
Good jobs, a six year old son Luke (Sympkins) they both adore, healthy parents and a Toyota Prius, domestic suburban bliss.That is until Lara gets inconveniently and very quickly, convicted of murder and slammed up in a Pittsburgh prison for life.The film plays fast and loose with timelines, moving backwards and forwards to the present, which takes a moment or two to grasp but does work very effectively.The jaundiced Police and Prison guards are all believable but the film is centered on Crowe's performance.
A star makes a cameo appearance and nudges John towards the dark with fair warning, what is he prepared to do, how far will he go for what he wants."Show me where the bullets go", he asks when buying his first gun, he certainly gets to use them soon enough.Good to see Brian Dennehey in a small but pivotal role as John's father, acknowledging the full cost of the actions he is considering with very little spoken dialogue.Director Paul Haggis has created a film that is exciting with some very neat touches to add to the ever present ticking clock effect.
Lara appears to fare very well in prison, looking just as bright and attractive as the day she was incarcerated, obviously prison life suited her.Look out for House's "number thirteen" (Olivia Wilde), soon to be seen in "Cowboys and Aliens" as her star continues to rise.Summary A cracking thriller with a great ending, that is better than some reports and box office returns might suggest.Crowe adds another creditable role to his diverse resume providing yet another example of his broad acting range.Recommended http://julesmoviereviews.blogspot.com/.
If you're a fan of Crowe or just love damn good movies The Next Three Days is a brilliantly gripping,thrilling and tense movie that only being a 12 certificate the whole family can watch.I think the critics missed this one when it first came out on release?
The reason that this film probably didn't make as much money as a lot of other films of the time has to do with the fact that the general film going public today has a culturally challenged view of cinema.This film had everything you would want in two hour entertainment: Great story, well acted out characters, crisp narrative, excitement, longing, drama, and a persuasive mood.Apart from the great performances by the leads, the supporting roles were played very strong.
The main star of the movie is none other than Russel Crowe and boy did he bring to life the character John Brennan.
John Brennan (Russell Crowe) is a schoolteacher who has a happy home life with his beautiful wife Lara (Elizabeth Banks) and son Luke (Ty Simpson).
The real pleasure of watching this movie is to admire how totally committed Russell Crowe is to this role.
Throughout all the movie I was submerged in the action and couldn't stop but feeling the adrenaline of Russell Crowe characterIt's been a long time since I've seen such a good thriller!
(the other film was appalling!) And...low and behold, I was very surprised, I am a bit of an errer when it comes to Russell Crowe, I think he can be amazing one minute, questionable the next, but this was an outstanding performance, true it had moments when your imagination is stretched, but all in all, he made the plot and story line believable.I understand now that this is a remake, but to be honest, it was so well acted that I wouldn't worry about seeing the original, as I don't think comparisons are required!
Suspense thriller with emotional play: The next three days 2010You need to watch this excellent movie with stellar performances of Russel Crowe and Elizabeth Banks to see how to make a suspense thriller with a murder accused a working lady falsely sentenced and her husband a College professor evolving a detailed plan for her prison break.
he Next Three Days great movie, It has a Gripping And Powerful Story Line, An All Star Cast and Great Direction, Russell Crow and Elizabeth Banks Make A great team in This movie about a Husband Breaking His Wife Out of Jail In Pittsburgh, the acting in this movie is flawless Russell Crow is at his best and Elizabeth Banks backs his character perfectly, the story line is believable and solid, there isn't a dull moment from start to end it's a heart pounding roller coaster, this film keep yous watching and makes you hold on tight it pulls you and doesn't let go till the end.
The film is about John, played by a very sharp Russel Crowe, plotting to break his wife out of prison.
It's thrilling, intense, emotional, and fun.The Next Three Days is a good prison break movie; anybody interested in this topic will probably like it..
Russell Crowe is desperate to break his wife (Elizabeth Banks) out of jail in "The Next Three Days," a 2010 film directed by Paul Haggis.Crowe and Banks play John and Lara Brennan, a happily married couple with one child.
In this film, Crowe plays John Brennan, an ordinary loving family guy who risks everything to break his wife free from a life sentence in jail.
Liam Neeson plays a man who's escaped prison 7 times and teaches him in possibly the best scene of the film what its all about.An hour into the movie, nothing really happens other than planning and character development.But every scene leading up to when the action starts Russel Crowe is great...is emotions are perfect and you can tell he's a man on the edge.Once the action starts it doesn't stop until the films ends and it actually is pretty good, despite some cliché's and plot holes.Overall, idk why it bombed but I can see why it didn't last long in theaters...its a nicely made movie that has a heart and is well acted...not too bad for a redbox rental..
It has very good acting by Elizabeth Banks and Russell Crowe with great directing by Paul Haggis.
I was a suspense ride thats for sure and I love Russel Crowe; he did a great job in this movie!
Me and my family remained glued to our seats, while watching a wonderful addition to great movies.The direction and production teams have done a great job.The actors Russell Crow and Elizabeth Banks have put in their best.