52-Week Movie Challenge: Dead Man Walking (Week 1 – A 1990s Drama Starring Susan Sarandon)
"It’s a solid, well-made movie with heart, great performances, and wonderful character development… even if it leans a bit into Oscar bait."
Dead Man Walking was a film that was released in 1995, directed by Tim Robbins and starring Susan Sarandon as Sister Helen Prejean as well as Sean Penn as Matthew Poncelet. It is ultimately about a compassionate Catholic nun who agrees to act as a spiritual advisor to a cynical, desperate death row inmate facing execution for murder, weaving a deeply emotional and thought-provoking narrative that explores the complex morality of capital punishment, the harrowing realities of the justice system, and the profound, challenging search for truth, redemption, and forgiveness from both the condemned man and the grieving families of his victims.
52-WEEK MOVIE CHALLENGE: WEEK 1 - A 1990S DRAMA STARRING SUSAN SARANDON
So, I just finished the last 52-Week movie challenge, which was all horror. You can check out those reviews now! This challenge is going to be very different because we’re talking about very different prompts, starting off with a strange but really interesting one.
As usual, the prompts in this challenge are going to be taken off of a book. This one in particular is 52 Week Movie Challenge: A Year of Trivia and Movie Fun. I like this book because not only does it have fun prompts, but every week there’s a movie challenge. For instance, this first week, it asks three questions about the movie Scarface. I of course cannot answer them because I’ve never seen Scarface, but I like that it gives more of an activity than just the movie to watch. Cool stuff.
Anyway, back to the movie at hand. Obviously Susan Sarandon kind of exploded in popularity with a few dramas that came out in the 1990s: White Palace, Thelma & Louise, Lorenzo’s Oil, The Client, Little Women, Dead Man Walking, Twilight, Stepmom, and Anywhere but Here. She was unstoppable. But like my 52-Week Challenge before, I wanted to watch a movie I’d never seen before. To be fair, I haven’t seen a ton of those, but the biggest hits I had. So, I kind of chose at random when I picked Dead Man Walking, but man oh man was this the right choice.
This is the film that won Susan Sarandon her only Oscar, ever. She won Best Actress for her role as the impartial nun navigating this very emotional, very difficult situation with essentially a horrible human being. Not only is this guy, played by Sean Penn, in prison for a double homicide and rape, but he’s also a white supremacist who drops the N-bomb left and right. Dude is just not a great guy all around, and her entire role comes down to helping him see the error of his ways and maybe find some repentance along the way.
This film, of course, is a true story, adapted from a non-fiction book written by the real-life nun. I definitely understand why Sarandon got the nomination. I’m not entirely sure if I agree with the win, but I can’t say anything… I haven’t seen any of the other movies that were nominated for Best Actress. However, what I do understand is that Sarandon was nominated, basically, year after year in the ‘90s and never won anything until this film came around, and people considered this an example of an actress finally receiving what she’s due. I get that; she’s a powerhouse actress. Even today, whenever she pops up in something else, she’s usually really good in whatever it is. I do think I prefer her in The Client and Thelma & Louise, though. Her role here is pretty solid. Pretty emotional in general, but because she’s as good as she is in everything, something about this performance just feels like a mix of other things she’s done to me.
I know it’s going to go against the point here, but one of the plot points of the film is that Susan Sarandon, as this nun, does not look like a nun. She wears traditional clothing… which is true. The real nun also wore normal clothing because her sect allowed it, and I’m not against a group of nuns wearing normal clothing. I actually think it’s cool that exists, and I didn’t know that before seeing the movie. However, I can’t help but think if she wore the normal nun clothing that Susan Sarandon would stand out a lot more in those garbs.
That’s not to say she doesn’t do a great job; she does. She deserved that Oscar, but I also think she’s deserved a lot of the nominations she’s gotten in her career. Sean Penn was also nominated for Best Actor, and I feel like he didn’t win because it should have been more of a supporting actor nomination. Otherwise, I feel like he would have won as well. Heck, I also feel like it should have been nominated… and possibly won… for Best Adapted Screenplay, but it wasn’t nominated for that. It’s a good movie. It’s SOLID, but I’d be lying if I said at least part of this movie didn’t feel like Oscar bait.
Overall, I do like the movie. I do think it was made well overall. It’s got heart. It’s got great performances and wonderful character development. The entire movie is about character development, really. The only thing I’d say is it’s not exactly a movie I’d revisit. It doesn’t have much rewatchability to it, but it’s one I’d recommend a watch for, at least once. I think it’s worth that.
Unbiased/Technical Score: 40/50 or 80%
Biased/Entertainment Score: 36/50 or 72%
Total Combined Score: 76/100 or 76% or 4/5 on Letterboxd