Dead Man Walking (1995) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error A nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families.

Director: Helen Prejean (book) (as Sister Helen Prejean C.S.J.), Tim Robbins Stars: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC ‘Marjorie Prime’ Exclusive Teaser: Lois Smith And Jon Hamm Star In New Sci-Fi Drama About Artificial Intelligence 13 September 2016 7:00 AM, -08:00 | Indiewire a list of 23 titles created 31 Mar 2013 a list of 43 titles created 15 Aug 2013 a list of 42 titles created 18 Sep 2014 a list of 33 titles created 8 months ago a list of 39 titles created 5 months ago Title: Dead Man Walking (1995) 7.6/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won 1 Oscar. Another 20 wins & 19 nominations.

See more awards » Photos A mentally handicapped man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter, and in the process teaches his cold hearted lawyer the value of love and family. Director: Jessie Nelson Ben Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his alcoholism, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera. Director: Mike Figgis An Arkansas waitress and a housewife shoot a rapist and take off in a '66 Thunderbird. Director: Ridley Scott The Gospel Of Luke from The Bible. Director: David Batty Edit 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.

Written by Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu> Rated R for a depiction of a rape and murder | See all certifications » Parents Guide: 2 February 1996 (USA) See more » Also Known As: La dernière marche See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia The scene where Sister Helen was pulled over is based on an incident that happened to Helen Prejean during filming. She thought it was so funny that she asked to have it put into the film. See more » Goofs Matthew says that they shaved his left leg in case they couldn't find a vein. In subsequent shots, it has clearly not been shaved. See more » Quotes Matthew Poncelet : I like rebels. Some blacks is ok. Martin Luther King, he led his people all the way to DC and kicked the white man's butt. Sister Helen Prejean : You respect Martin Luther King? Matthew Poncelet : He put up a fight. He wasn't lazy. Matthew Poncelet : Don't like 'em. Sister Helen Prejean : So it's lazy people you don't like?

See more » Crazy Credits This Film Was Edited On Old Fashioned Machines. This credit was inspired by John Ottman, editor of 'The Usual Suspects'. Ottman had wanted to put "edited on a piece of s*** Steenbeck" at the end of his movie, but settled for the more subtle "Edited on film". Tim Robbins heard about this, and decided to put his own variation of the line on the credits of 'Dead Man Walking.' See more » Connections Soundtracks This Is The Day The Lord Has Made Performed by Rev. Donald R. Smith and The Golden Voices Gospel Choir Of St. Francis De Sales Catholic Church Text written by Isaac Watts Arranged by Donald R. Smith and David Campbell (as David Campbell) Dead Man Walking Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb 83 out of 113 people found the following review useful: Amazingly objective and moving from Austin, Texas 12 March 2001 I'm astonished how a filmmaker notorious for his political left-wing fervor could make such a subtle, non-sanctimonious picture. If you're for capital punishment, you'll still be for it after seeing this. If you're against capital punishment, you'll still be against it.

But whatever your stance is, this movie will, at the very least, make you reflect on why you feel the way you do. There's not one false note in the film. Was the above review useful to you? 48 out of 67 people found the following review useful: Thought provoking film Author: perfectbond 23 March 2003 Tim Robbins did a masterful job directing this film. I say this because he avoided convention and cliché. He also oversaw superb performances from Susan Sarandon (who won an Oscar for her role) and Sean Penn. Even more amazing, Robbins doesn't patronize. He just tells the story and lets the events play on the viewer's mind. This is so effective because it allows the viewer to form his own opinions on the death penalty, one of the most controversial subjects of our time, without being unfairly manipulated in either direction. I can't recommend this film enough, 9/10. Was the above review useful to you? 33 out of 38 people found the following review useful: Dead Man's Last Words from Fraggle Rock 12 November 2008 Tim Robbins's 'Dead Man Walking' is a brave piece of cinema.

Though the film is about a man on death row and a nun's struggle to help him, I liked how he presented both sides of the central theme of capital punishment. This isn't a preachy film about capital punishment being wrong or right as I doubt one's opinion would change on that after watching the movie. But, it's more of a subtle movie that tells the story of two people who form an unlikely friendship. This couldn't have been an easy film to make yet he manages to pull it off. Poncelet is a ruthless murderer and in no way does Robbins condone what he has done but he and actor Sean Penn manage to win Poncelet the viewer's sympathy. The execution is terrific. The last scene particularly stands out. We see, in flashback, what had happened while Poncelet meets his ultimate fate. We see how he and Helen make the final connection, we see remorse in his eyes, we see him dying a slow death and at the same time the horror of the crime is exposed to us. We know that what he did is unforgivable but he finally took responsibility for that which allows us to see him as a human being rather than a ruthless killer.

This also makes the whole tragedy more astonishing because you just ponder, like Sister Helen, on how such a normal human being commit such a heinous deed? Both Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon deliver powerful performances. We pretty much see most of the film from Helen's point of view. Sarandon clearly has put a lot of heart into the role as she skillfully downplays her part showing tremendous depth and pathos. Sean Penn plays his difficult complex character with ease. The supporting cast do well (watch out for a young Jack Black and Peter Sarsgaard). The score is mesmerizing, especially the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan tracks. I also felt that sense of isolation that was brought out in the prison scenes. The terrific writing grips the viewer's attention right from the start. Even though we can predict Poncelet's fate, we are drawn into the fascinating transforming journey of these two intriguing characters. Was the above review useful to you? 36 out of 47 people found the following review useful: Watershed from USA 26 March 2000 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. Was the above review useful to you? 47 out of 75 people found the following review useful: Incredible filmmaking from Seattle, WA. USA 20 March 2000 "Dead Man Walking" is a piece of incredible filmmaking. All the acting is top-notch and realistic, and the script examines the issue of the death penalty from both sides, paying equal homage to both. Above all, this is a deeply moving story of redemption, of death with dignity and loss of ego.

Any film that deals this courageously and maturely with such incredibly difficult subject matter deserves a rating of 10/10. Thank you, Tim Robbins! Was the above review useful to you? 21 out of 25 people found the following review useful: Sarandonriding along into the sunsetwith Sean Penn *** This review may contain spoilers *** 'It's easy to kill a monster, but it's hard to kill a human being.' Set in St.

Thomas Housing Project and Angola Prison in New Orleans, "Dead Man Walking" is the true story of Helen Prejean (Susan Sarandon), a Louisiana nun Sister who befriended Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn), a murderer and a rapist bound for a lethal injection machine for killing a teenage couple Sister Helen agrees to help the convict and to remain with him till the endan act never before attempted by a woman At their first meeting, Poncelet swears to the nun that his accomplice was the one who shot both of the kids and pleads her help for a new trial in order to convince the pardon board hearing to spare his life The film challenges the audience to actually give some thought to the human consequences of the death penalty, but gives voice to angry bereaved parents whose kids were shot, stabbed, raped, and left in the woods to die alone As Poncelet's execution looms closer and closer, his character is seen deceptively complex, harboring doubts about the rightness of what they were doing to him In one moment, we hear him sensitive asking for a lie detector test to let his mother know that he is innocent, in another we see him furious playing the victim, blaming the government, drugs, blacks, the

 kids for being there Poncelet never understood that he has robbed the Percys and the Delacroixs so much, giving them nothing but sorrow They are never going to see their children again, never going to hold them, to love them, to laugh with them In the scenes leading up to his execution, the death-row inmate drops his terrible facade and reveals his identity Luckily both Sarandon and Penn are here exceptionalcarrying out successfully an exquisite, tangible harmony of souls When Sarandon was looking at Penn, she was projecting compassionate eyes brimming with tears She asks him to visualize her as he dies ''I want the last thing you see in this world to be the face of love''in that moment, we truly believed that she'll be the face of love for him Was the above review useful to you?

43 out of 69 people found the following review useful: Outstanding Performance by Susan Sarandon from Salem, Oregon 18 November 2001 In a world in which debatable and misunderstood subjects can be listed endlessly, this powerful 1995 film takes on one at the top of that list; moreover, it does it objectively and realistically, and with a sensibility and sensitivity that makes it a truly great film by anyone's measuring stick. And to add some irony to it all, even the subject matter of this film has been widely misunderstood, as it is wrongly perceived that this is a film about the pros and cons of the death penalty; it is not. At the heart of `Dead Man Walking,' directed by Tim Robbins, is a subject that in reality is possibly the most misunderstood of all, and with good reason, because it just may be the hardest thing there is for a human being to really-- and truly-- understand. And it is what this film is actually all about: Forgiveness. Real forgiveness; not excusing a heinous crime or the perpetrator thereof-- not saying that what's happened is okay-- but finding the strength to go on, and to do so by choosing life.

Director/screenwriter Tim Robbins has crafted and delivered a faithful adaptation of the novel by Sister Helen Prejean, in which she discusses her involvement with the death-row inmates to whom over the years she has ministered her faith in God. As chronicled in the film, what for her was to become a lifelong pursuit of not only justice, but human dignity, began with a simple letter from a death-row inmate at the Louisiana State Prison at Angola. Sentenced to death for rape and murder, Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn) was reaching out to anyone who would listen, when his letter ended up in the hands of Sister Prejean (Susan Sarandon), who soon found herself venturing into a territory of which she had absolutely no knowledge or experience. And Robbins has successfully captured Sister Prejean's emotional and turbulent journey succinctly, while managing to keep it devoid of any maudlin sentimentality, which makes it not only real, credible and believable, but makes it a poignant and thoroughly emotionally involving experience for the audience. Through the medium of the cinema, what was once a personal, significant emotional experience for Sister Prejean, becomes one for everyone who sees this film, as well.

For her soul-stirring, impassioned portrayal of Sister Prejean, Susan Sarandon deservedly won the Oscar for Best Actress. Sensitive and fraught with emotional depth, her performance is incredibly touching and real, especially in the way in which she conveys Sister Prejean's underlying natural fragility and vulnerability, which she adamantly tempered with the toughness she needed to carry on with her endeavors on behalf of Poncelet (and in reality, a total of five since she began). Whatever your point of view regarding the matters examined in this film, Sister Prejean is without question an individual of heroic proportions, which Sarandon exquisitely personifies here; and she does it without resorting to any superfluous melodramatics, but rather by keeping it real, by subtly and humbly exploring the humanity of the person in a very believable expression of characterization. It's an extraordinary performance, arguably the best of Sarandon's brilliant career. Turning in a career-best performance, as well, is Sean Penn, who was nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of Poncelet (he lost out to Nicolas Cage, who won for his performance in `Leaving Las Vegas).

Perfect for the part in every way, Penn has quite simply never been better, before or since. He effectively presents Poncelet as a real person, rather than as an overblown caricature of a monster capable of perpetrating the crimes depicted here. Not that it makes Poncelet any less despicable; just the opposite, in fact. It makes it genuinely disconcerting to be faced with the fact that someone who looks like a guy who could live next door to you could be capable of such things. And that's the strength of Penn's performance-- it's so disturbingly real, presented with depth and nuance; you have but to look into his eyes to find the imperfections of a troubled soul. A terrific performance, and -- as good as Cage was in `Vegas'-- Penn should have received the Oscar for it. In another stand-out performance, Raymond J. Barry is memorable in a supporting role as Earl Delacroix, father of one of Poncelet's victims.

With limited screen time, he nevertheless develops his character in such a way that enables you to empathize with him, as well as with Sister Prejean, as it is through him that we are given some insight into just how complex and seemingly tenuous her position is, at least on the surface. Barry presents Delacroix in such a way that gives the necessary balance and perspective to the story, which is ultimately extremely effective and helps to underscore the message of the film. The supporting cast includes R. Lee Emery (Clyde Percy), Celia Weston (Mary Beth Percy), Lois Smith (Helen's Mother), Scott Wilson (Chaplin Farley), Roberta Maxwell (Lucille Poncelet), Margo Martindale (Sister Colleen) and Jack Black (Craig Poncelet). It is doubtful that this film will change anyone's mind one way or another about the death penalty, but that was never the intention; what was intended, was to make a thought-provoking, emotionally involving film, which is exactly what Robbins has accomplished with `Dead Man Walking.' Regardless of your personal point of view, this film will have an impact, and hopefully will open some minds to the true nature of forgiveness.

For, as we see through the character of Earl Delacroix, true forgiveness is not something one merely decides to do, but is a task that can become a lifetime's work. And it's possibly one of the hardest things in life to effectively accomplish; and you come away from this film with an appreciation for individuals like Sister Prejean, who has selflessly dedicated her life to helping those in need, and to filmmakers like Robbins and Sarandon for bringing her to life for millions of people who otherwise would never have known her. I rate this one 10/10. Was the above review useful to you? 31 out of 47 people found the following review useful: The Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn Show from United States 26 June 2000 "Dead Man Walking" deals with one nun's struggle (Susan Sarandon in her Oscar-winning part) to help a convicted death row inmate (Sean Penn in an Oscar-nominated role) come to terms with his imminent execution. Writer-director Tim Robbins does something very difficult in this film, he makes us care about the unsympathetic character that Penn plays.

Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn dominate the film in every aspect imaginable, they play a complicated chess match at times and eventually become close friends by the end of the picture. The fact that Sarandon and Robbins are openly against the death penalty in real life just adds to this film. Their strong opinion on the subject leads to an unforgettable motion picture that is made well and performed well by the two leads. 4.5 out of 5 stars. Was the above review useful to you? 18 out of 22 people found the following review useful: one of the most important movies ever made Author: jogi_67 8 March 1999 How do you know if a movie is good or not? It is the impact it has on you that makes the difference. "Dead Man Walking" upset me a great deal. I watched it twice. I don't know if I will be strong enough to watch it again. No, I did not feel good at all after watching it, but the film was as successful as it can be. Robbins did a great job in incorporating all aspects of this controversial topic. He avoided making an argument that could easily be seen as biased or subjective.

I hope that many people get to see "Dead Man Walking". I believe that anyone who supports or opposes the death penalty so enthusiastically should see the movie. I don't know what else it could take to finally convince everyone that this relic from ancient times does not have a place in modern society anymore. The movie itself does not make an argument for or against death penalty. It describes reality. The reality is the best argument against the death penalty. A 10/10 for great performances, good filmmaking, and for the most important film made in years Thank you, Tim Robbins! from Sweden 3 October 1999 "Dead Man Walking" is one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen. I find it hard to believe that anyone, after having seen the movie, could feel indifferent about the film or its message. Tim Robbins does not try to impose his ideas and beliefs on the viewers, but manages to make a film that are in most ways sympathetic to both views on the death penalty -- whether it is right to murder a murderer or not.

I have always known where I stand in this question, even as a child, and this movie -- despite the fact that it does not really take any sides -- made me even surer in my conviction that it can never be right to murder *anyone*. Sean Penn is absolutely brilliant in his portrayal of Matthew Poncelet, his nomination for an Academy Award was very well-deserved. Even if Nicolas Cage does a great job in "Leaving Las Vegas", I would have been happier if Penn had won the award. Susan Sarandon is also brilliant and she deserved the Academy Award she won. And Tim Robbins certainly deserves the vote I have given this film: 9/10! Was the above review useful to you? Page 1 of 20: Rent Susan Sarandon Movies on DVD and Blu-ray - DVD Netflix Thrillers Susan Sarandon The eldest of nine children, Susan Sarandon was born Oct. 4, 1946, in New York City. She met her future husband, actor Chris Sarandon, while attending Catholic University and landed a key role in the 1970 film Joe when she accompanied him on an audition.

After appearing in several largely forgettable movies, Sarandon broke through in 1975 in the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show. She honed her talents when she became involved with director Louis Malle, who cast her in the controversial Pretty Baby (1978) and then in Atlantic City (1980), for which she nabbed the first of five Oscar nods for Best Actress. A series of high-profile roles followed with The Witches of Eastwick (1987), Bull Durham (1988) and Thelma & Louise (1991). In 1995, Sarandon won the Best Actress Oscar playing Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking. She earned an Emmy nomination in 2010 for her supporting work in the HBO biopic You Don't Know Jack. Biography | Sister Helen Prejean Save Richard Glossip! Select Page Sister Helen Prejean was born on April 21, 1939, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille in 1957 (now know as the Congregation of St. Joseph) and received a B.A.

in English and Education from St. Mary’s Dominican College, New Orleans in 1962. In 1973, she earned an M.A. in Religious Education from St. Paul’s University in Ottawa, Canada. She has been the Religious Education Director at St. Frances Cabrini Parish in New Orleans, the Formation Director for her religious community, and has taught junior and senior high school students. Sister Helen began her prison ministry in 1981 when she dedicated her life to the poor of New Orleans. While living in the St. Thomas housing project, she became pen pals with Patrick Sonnier, the convicted killer of two teenagers, sentenced to die in the electric chair of Louisiana’s Angola State Prison. Upon Sonnier’s request, Sister Helen repeatedly visited him as his spiritual advisor. In doing so, her eyes were opened to the Louisiana execution process. Sister Helen turned her experiences into a book that not only made the 1994 American Library Associates Notable Book List. Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States was number one on the New York Times Best Seller List for 31 weeks. It also was an international best seller and has been translated into ten different languages.

In January 1996, the book was developed into a major motion picture starring Susan Sarandon as Sister Helen and Sean Penn as a death row inmate. Produced by Polygram Pictures, the film was directed and written by Tim Robbins. The movie received four Oscar nominations including Tim Robbins for Best Director, Sean Penn for Best Actor, Susan Sarandon for Best Actress, and Bruce Springsteen’s “Dead Man Walking” for Best Song. Susan Sarandon won the award for Best Actress. The book was the basis for a new opera. It was presented by the San Francisco Opera and premiered in October 2000. The libretto was written by Terrance McNally. Jake Heggie composed the music. Sister Helen and Dead Man Walking have been the subject of numerous media stories and reviews in the U.S., Canada, Spain, Holland, England, Scotland, France and Australia. She has been featured in the New York Times Magazine, Vogue, Good Housekeeping, the St. Anthony Messenger, the Ligourian, the Chicago Tribune, the Atlanta Constitution, the Times Picayune, the San Francisco Chronicle, the New Orleans Magazine, the Tablet, Sisters Today and numerous other print media.

Her broadcast appearances include 60 Minutes, NBC’s Today Show, ABC World News Tonight; the Tom Snyder Show on CNBC, Larry King Live (radio), the Phil Donahue Show, BBC World Service Radio, National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition and Fresh Air, an NBC Special on the Death Penalty, the Canadian Broadcast Company Man Alive, the BBC’s Everyman, ABC’s Prime Times Live, and PBS’ Frontline. Fifteen years after beginning her crusade, the Roman Catholic sister has witnessed five executions in Louisiana and today educates the public about the death penalty by lecturing, organizing and writing. As the founder of “Survive,” a victim’s advocacy group in New Orleans, she continues to counsel not only inmates on death row, but the families of murder victims, as well. Sister Helen has served on the board of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty from 1985–1995, and has served as Chairperson of the Board from 1993–1995. She is also a member of Amnesty International and an honorary member of Murder Victim Families for Reconciliation.

She presently is the Honorary Chairperson of Moratorium Campaign, a group gathering signatures for a world-wide moratorium on the death penalty. On December 18, 2000 S. Helen, Paul Hoffman, board member of Amnesty International and Mario Marizziti, representative of The St. Egidio Community in Rome, Italy presented Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the U.N. with 2.5 million signatures from people all over the world who are calling for a moratorium on the death penalty. Her book Dead Man Walking was on the New York Times bestseller list for 31 weeks. It was also on the International bestseller list. It has been translated into ten different languages. Sr. Helen’s second book, The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions , was published in December 2004. In it, she tells the story of two men, Dobie Gillis Williams and Joseph O’Dell, whom she accompanied to their executions. She believes both of them were innocent.

In The Death of Innocents she takes the reader through all the evidence, including evidence the juries never heard either due to the incompetence of the defense lawyers or the rigid formalities of court procedure. S. Helen examines how flaws inextricably entwined in the death penalty system inevitably lead to innocent people being executed and render the system unworkable. Dead Man Walking Movie Review (1996) | Roger Ebert Tweet After seeing "Dead Man Walking," I paused outside the screening to jot a final line on my notes: "This film ennobles filmmaking." That is exactly what it does. It demonstrates how a movie can confront a grave and controversial issue in our society and see it fairly, from all sides, not take any shortcuts, and move the audience to a great emotional experience without unfair manipulation. What is remarkable is that the film is also all the other things a movie should be: absorbing, surprising, technically superb and worth talking about for a long time afterward. Advertisement The movie begins with a Louisiana nun, Sister Helen Prejean ( Susan Sarandon ), who works in an inner-city neighborhood. One day she receives a letter from an inmate on Death Row, asking her to visit him. So she visits him.

The prison chaplain ( Scott Wilson ) doesn't think much of her visit, and briefs her on the ways that prisoners can manipulate outsiders. He obviously thinks of her as a bleeding heart. Her answer is unadorned: "He wrote to me and asked me to come." The inmate, named Matthew Poncelet ( Sean Penn ), has been convicted, along with another man, of participating in the rape and murder of two young people on a lovers' lane. We see him first through the grating of a visitor's pen, so that his face breaks into jigsawlike pieces. In looks and appearance, he is the kind of person you would instinctively dread: He has the mousy little goatee and elaborate pompadour of a man with deep misgivings about his face. His voice is halting and his speech is ignorant. He smokes a cigarette as if sneaking puffs in a grade-school washroom. He tells her, "They got me on a greased rail to the Death House here." He wants her to help with his appeal. At one point, he mentions that they don't have anything in common. Sister Helen thinks about that, and says, "You and I have something in common.

We both live with the poor." His face looks quietly stunned, as if for the first time in a long time he has been confronted with an insight about his life that is not solely ego-driven. She says that she will come to see him again and that she will help him file a last-minute appeal against his approaching execution. Sister Helen, as played here by Sarandon and written and directed by Tim Robbins (from the memoir by the real Helen Prejean), is one of the few truly spiritual characters I have seen in the movies. Movies about "religion" are often only that - movies about secular organizations that deal in spirituality. It is so rare to find a movie character who truly does try to live according to the teachings of Jesus (or anyone else, for that matter) that it's a little disorienting: This character will behave according to what she thinks is right, not according to the needs of a plot, the requirements of a formula, or the pieties of those for whom religion, good grooming, polite manners and prosperity are all more or less the same thing. But wait. The film is not finished with its bravery. At this point in any conventional story, we would expect developments along familiar lines.

Take your choice: (1) The prisoner is really innocent, and Sister Helen leads his 11th-hour defense as justice is done; (2) They fall in love with one another, she helps him escape, and they go on a doomed flight from the law; or, less likely, (3) She converts him to her religion, and he goes to his death praising Jesus. Advertisement None of these things happen. Instead, Sister Helen experiences all of the complexities, contradictions and hard truths of the situation, and we share them. In movies like this you rarely see the loved ones of the victims, unless they are presented in hatefilled caricatures of blood lust. Here it is not like that. Sister Helen meets the parents of the dead girl, and the father of the dead boy. (The father is seen among packing cases - moving, after a separation from his wife, who felt it was time for them to "get on with their lives," which he can never do.) She begins to understand that Matthew may indeed have been guilty. She has to face the anger of the parents, who cannot see why anyone would want to befriend a murderer ("Are you a communist?").

There is a scene of agonizing embarrassment, as the girl's parents make a basic mistake about her motives for visiting them. And there is more. Matthew, we come to realize, is the product of an impoverished cultural background. He has been supplied with only a few cliches to serve him as a philosophy: He believes in "taking things like a man," and "showing people," and there on Death Row, he even makes a play for Sister Helen, almost as a reflex. Advertisement "Death is breathing down your neck," she tells him, "and you're playing your little man-on-the-make games." He parrots a racist statement from his prison buddies in the Aryan Nation, which does his case no good, and later, when he bitterly resents his stupidity in saying those things, we realize he didn't even think about them; nature abhors a vacuum, and racism abhors an empty mind and pours in to fill it. The movie comes down to a drama of an entirely unexpected kind: a spiritual drama, involving Matthew's soul. Christianity teaches that all sin can be forgiven, and that no sinner is too low for God's love. Sister Helen believes that.

Truly believes it, with every atom of her being. And yet she does not press Matthew for a "religious" solution to his situation. What she hopes for is that he can go to his death in reconciliation with himself and his crime. The last half-hour of this movie is overwhelmingly powerful - not the least in Matthew's strained 11th-hour visit with his family, where we see them all trapped in the threadbare cliches of a language learned from television shows and saloon jukeboxes. The performances in this film are beyond comparison, which is to say that Sarandon and Penn find their characters and make them into exactly what they are, without reference to other movies or conventions. Penn proves again that he is the most powerful actor of his generation, and, as for Sarandon, in film after film she finds not the right technique for a character so much as the right humanity. It's as if she creates a role out of a deep understanding of the person she is playing. Advertisement Tim Robbins, Sarandon's longtime companion, has directed once before (" Bob Roberts ," an intelligent political drama). With this film he leaps far beyond his earlier work and has made that rare thing, a film that is an exercise of philosophy.

This is the kind of movie that spoils us for other films, because it reveals so starkly how most movies fall into conventional routine, and lull us with the reassurance that they will not look too hard, or probe too deeply, or make us think beyond the boundaries of what is comfortable. For years, critics have asked for more films that deal with the spiritual side of life. I doubt if "Dead Man Walking" was what they were thinking of, but this is exactly how such a movie looks, and feels. Popular Blog Posts Five questions for Sister Helen Prejean FacebookEmail Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest Five questions for Sister Helen Prejean Dead Man Walking by Catholic nun Helen Prejean was a bestseller thanks to the 1995 movie staring Susan Sarandon. This week, Vintage releases a 20th anniversary edition of the 1993 book with a new subtitle: The Post to Facebook Five questions for Sister Helen Prejean Dead Man Walking by Catholic nun Helen Prejean was a bestseller thanks to the 1995 movie staring Susan Sarandon.

This week, Vintage releases a 20th anniversary edition of the 1993 book with a new subtitle: The Check out this story on USATODAY.com: CancelSend A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. 4 To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs Five questions for Sister Helen Prejean Bob Minzesheimer, USA TODAY 10:45 p.m. ET June 19, 2013 Vintage is releasing a 20th-anniversary edition of 'Dead Man Walking' with a new subtitle. Sister Helen Prejean, author of 'Dead Man Walking.' (Photo: Michael Lionstar) Dead Man Walking by Catholic nun Helen Prejean was a best seller thanks to the 1995 movie starring Susan Sarandon. This week, Vintage releases a 20th-anniversary edition of the 1993 book with a new subtitle: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate.

It has three new afterwords written by the author; Sarandon, who won an Oscar for her role as Prejean; and Tim Robbins, the movie's director. Prejean, 74, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph in New Orleans, spoke to USA TODAY's Bob Minzesheimer: 1. In Sarandon's afterword she quotes you saying, "The film plows the ground but the book tills the soil." What do you mean? Oh, that's my favorite quote. What Susan and everyone who worked on the film did so well was to show dramatically the suffering on both sides: the perpetrators and the families of the victims. It spurred people to the book which is about both emotions and facts about the death penalty and how it's actually practiced. (Photo: ) 2. In 20 years, what's changed? The attitudes of the American public. In 1996, 78% supported the death penalty; now it's down to 62%. Catholics used to be big supporters; now 60% of young Catholics — 30 and under — are against the death penalty. 3. And what hasn't changed? The South.

In the rest of the country, the number of executions is diminishing. Except for the Deep South states that once practiced slavery. 4. Has any American president opposed the death penalty? Not that I know of. Not even President Obama. I wish I could have five minutes with him. I would tell him there's no way it's ever going to be fair. Overwhelming, the people who are sentenced to death are poor people who have killed whites. 5. What's your next book? It's called River of Fire. It's a prequel to Dead Man Walking. It's about my spiritual journey, how this nice, polite nun came to a new understanding of Christianity and the need to fight for social justice. With God's good grace, it will be finished in 2015. 381 CONNECT TWEET LINKEDIN 4 COMMENTEMAILMORE Read or Share this story: NEVER MISS OUT Life Be a pop culture maven. Get the news, reviews and the juiciest celebrity stories that keep you in the know, Monday-Friday.

Question: In which film did Susan Sarandon play Sister Helen Prejean?
Answer: Dead Man Walking