Sarandon, Penn go slowly `Walking'

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RATING: * * 1/2

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by Caroline Keller

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Dead Man Walking is one of those movies that critics stand up and cheer for while less "professional" audiences seem to stand up and stretch, like after a long nap. It is arguably a great movie with excellent lead actors, an interesting and thought-provoking storyline and an explosive topic: the death penalty.

Unfortunately, for those of us who pay a lot of money to sit through "great" movies, the sum of its parts don't always equal a movie's whole.

The problem with Dead Man Walking is not that the acting is bad, or that the plot is stupid. Its problem is that it's just not interesting to watch. There is no easy way for the audience to relate, to get drawn in. Even worse, the movie lacks any spark of energy. In the end, it is nothing more than a panoramic picture of a man facing execution and the currents that flow around him. This impartial portrayal seems to be the effect director Tim Robbins is striving for: a potentially good technique for dealing with an issue as controversial as the death penalty.

The plot hinges on the relationship between Sister Helen Prejean (Susan Sarandon) and Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn), a death row inmate who turns to the nun for help. As Poncelet's execution looms closer and closer, the intricate interchanges between these two very different people becomes engaging, but, by this point, not even the excellent acting was enough to make me like the movie.

One of the bright spots in Dead Man Walking is the lead characters' acting. Penn as the doomed Poncelet is excellent. Sarandon gives an outstanding performance, agonizing over her relationship with a convicted killer.

Dead Man Walking is a movie that should have been a lot better. If you're extremely patient and willing to root out the good parts, you might actually enjoy the movie.

This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the January 26, 1996 issue.

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