If I had known what this movie was about (nun tries to save a death row inmate), I probably would not have watched it. However, this movie grew on me before it ended. We are shown a murderer and rapist, a totally despicable man; and the woman of God who tries to fight for his mind and soul. I couldn't get into it at first because I felt no sympathy for him. However, it wasn't about whether I felt sympathy for him or hoped for a successful appeal. It was about taking a monster, an evil man and seeing the humanity in him. In the end, I still felt no sympathy for the man. My opinions on the death penalty did not change. But the journey I took with the character made me both think and feel feelings in ways that few movies can affect me.
This movie plays like a documentary, and I feel that showing the victims' families side of things made this movie stronger.
On the down side, the plot was very very linear. The bad characters are too evil to sympathize with, the good characters act too reasonably to condemn; so there is little room for debate or moral ambiguity. Plus, the constant religiousness didn't help things much. If I had seen this movie a few years earlier, I would have been bored.
6.5/10 (voted 6)
This movie plays like a documentary, and I feel that showing the victims' families side of things made this movie stronger.
On the down side, the plot was very very linear. The bad characters are too evil to sympathize with, the good characters act too reasonably to condemn; so there is little room for debate or moral ambiguity. Plus, the constant religiousness didn't help things much. If I had seen this movie a few years earlier, I would have been bored.
6.5/10 (voted 6)