In the role that won her an Academy Award, Susan Sarandon plays Sister Helen Prejean. Based on a true story and on the book written by Sister Prejean, the film deals with her relationship with convicted killer Matthew Poncelet. Convicted of the brutal murder of two teenagers, Poncelet waits on Death Row to end his life by lethal injection. Electing Sister Helen as his spiritual advisor, the film takes us on a journey from darkness into light as Matthew and Sister Prejean search for and face the truth. Robbins’ film is masterly and the performances of Sarandon and Sean Penn as Poncelot are compelling and moving. Robbins’ raises key issues in the film but never over-manipulates the audience to take one side or the other on the capital punishment issue.
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Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
306839
Language
English
Audience classification
M (15+)
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Academy awards (Motion pictures)
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Biographical films
Armed Forces, Military, War & Weapons → Truth
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Capital punishment
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Truth
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)