The year 1995 got it right while getting it wrong simultaneously regarding the Oscars. I’m referring, in particular, to two movies. Dead Man Walking and Leaving Las Vegas. Each movie had knock-it-out-of-the-park performances from its lead characters, but neither film could capitalize on these performances to earn a Best Picture nomination. However, outside of Braveheart and Apollo 13, this wasn’t a particularly strong year with Babe, Sense and Sensibility, and The Postman as the other five nominees. Braveheart (the winner) continues to remain one of the most beloved Best Picture winners of all time, while many view Apollo 13 as a technical masterpiece. As a brief aside, Heat, Se7en, and The Usual Suspects deserved the other three nominees

The powerhouse performances in Dead Man Walking and Leaving Las Vegas were almost enough to move two very good movies into the conversation for Best Picture. Each film earned nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Leading Role, feats rarely accomplished, much less twice in one year. However, where The Academy (and other award associations) got it wrong was with its winners. Susan Sarandon won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Dead Man Walking, while Nicolas Cage won for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Leaving Las Vegas. I cannot be unconvinced that these two categories’ winners should have been Sean Penn (Dead Man Walking) and Elizabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas). The performances of Penn and Shue were so much more layered and convincing than that of Sarandon (who played a loving nun as you would expect a devoted nun to be played) and Cage (who played a depressed alcoholic intent on drinking himself to death as you would expect a depressed alcoholic intent on drinking himself to death to be played). Each played these roles to near perfection, but neither outperformed the 1995 winner or their movie counterpart. Because of this reason, Dead Man Walking and Leaving Las Vegas will forever be etched in my brain as sister movies.

I rewatch each movie every 5-10 years. I think I’m more impressed that my 19-year-old mind was able to truly absorb the heavy content of each of these films when my nature was more interested in the likes of Braveheart, Apollo 13, Se7en, Heat, or The Usual Suspects, mainly because Dead Man Walking and Leaving Las Vegas were both so dark, heavy, and slow. I watched six of these seven movies in the theater (the exception being The Usual Suspects), which undoubtedly aided my viewing. Almost 30 years later, I still feel as strongly that the winners of the two big awards should have been reversed.

Dead Man Walking is the better of the two movies, albeit slightly. Leaving Las Vegas has a story that feels more common and could very well be the story of something that happened with a next-door neighbor, and we might never know otherwise. Dead Man Walking is the exact opposite of that, as it would garner local and regional, if not even national, headlines. Leaving Las Vegas feels like the culmination of years of addiction taking one final toll. At the same time, Dead Man Walking, in its most direct form, is more the result of one extremely poor, unforgivable decision-making. In either regard, it feels like both films leave us exasperated, wondering what we, as humankind, could have done, if anything, to prevent either event.

In Dead Man Walking, Penn (Milk, Mystic River) stars as Matthew Poncelet, a Louisiana State Penitentiary convict who has been convicted and sentenced to do for the rape and killing of a teenage couple six years prior. While incarcerated, Matthew has corresponded with Sister Helen Prejean (Susan Sarandon – Bull Durham, The Client). As his execution day nears, he asks Sister Helen to help him with a last-chance appeal. Though opposites in every regard, Helen comes to the prison to meet with Matthew for the first time. Full of piss and vinegar, Matthew makes racist and sexist remarks in his first interaction with Helen. However, he does maintain his innocence (pinning the murders on the friend who was with him during the crimes…a friend who has been able to have his sentence reduced from death by lethal injection to life in prison without the possibility of parole). Matthew’s off-putting behavior makes it difficult to even be in the presence of, let alone love. Yet, she is a woman of faith and a steward of God’s love.

Throughout several face-to-face interactions, Helen begins to see the good in Matthew, perhaps viewing him through the same lens God would. Her conversations with Matthew’s family help her see that he is not always the monster he’s now portrayed as. Though Helen knows she will likely be unable to have his sentence changed and have his life saved, she commits herself to saving his soul. She is determined to have Matthew accept responsibility for his actions and offer remorse. Complicating matters even more for Helen are the parents of each victim, who, in various stages of their grief, each do not understand why Helen is choosing to help this vile human who destroyed so many lives.

Dead Man Walking was Sarandon’s fourth Oscar nomination in four years (still her only win to date). While I don’t want to call this a lifetime achievement award (her career continues to thrive well into the 2020s, despite being her last Oscar nomination), it wasn’t as strong a performance as that of Shue.

Actor Tim Robins (Bob Roberts, Cradle Will Rock) stepped behind the camera to direct this, his second-ever film, earning an Oscar nomination. He gets the most out of his lead characters while incorporating many biblical elements. Good versus evil is the film’s central element. Robbins straddles that line perfectly, allowing us to see each side from different viewpoints. He never gets preachy nor leads us in a specific direction. He is not making a statement about capital punishment or trying to change how we might view this often-debated topic. However, like Helen with Matthew, he presents his story in a way that allows us to view issues from multiple angles. In doing so, he creates a tender tale of love, friendship, mercy, and forgiveness.

Plot 9.5/10
Character Development 9.75/10
Character Chemistry 9.5/10
Acting 9.75/10
Screenplay 9/10
Directing  9.5/10
Cinematography 9.75/10
Sound 9.75/10
Hook and Reel 9.75/10
Universal Relevance 9.75/10
94%

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• The Green Mile
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