SYNOPSIS:
Life seems perfect for John Brennan until his wife, Lara, is arrested for a gruesome murder she says she didn't commit. Three years into her sentence, John is struggling to hold his family together, raising their son and teaching at college while he pursues every means available to prove her innocence. With the rejection of their final appeal, Lara becomes suicidal and John decides there is only one possible, bearable solution: to break his wife out of prison. Refusing to be deterred by impossible odds or his own inexperience, John devises an elaborate escape plot and plunges into a dangerous and unfamiliar world, ultimately risking everything for the woman he loves.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Three minutes into the movie, the audience already knew how loving Mr and Mrs John Brennan (Russell Crows and Elizabeth Banks respectively) are. And three minutes later, Lara Brennan is being thrown into the slammer for supposedly killing her boss, an event which turns the lives of John and their young son, Luke upside down.
Oscar-winning director and writer Paul Haggis remake of the French film, Pour Elle is unlike the typical jailbreak action thriller as Haggis tries to infuse his brand of human drama in the laborious 130 minutes running time. Haggis of course is not interested in veering into John Grisham/Michael Connelly territory thus he wastes no time in complicated courtroom drama or further examination of the murder case. The story instead functioned for the first hour as a slow-boiler that details the downfall of English teacher John Brennan as he questions his own morality and penning out his outrageous plan to break his wife out of prison after consulting an ex-hardcore criminal, Damon (Liam Neeson in a 'million-dollar' cameo that amounts to nothing). Photos, books, maps and hilariously enough, he even went on to reference online videos on how to make a bump key and breaks in vehicles, perhaps it’s Haggis’ point of proving that nothing is impossible on the internet.
Crowe is more than competent enough to deliver a gut-wrenching performance as the desperate and loving husband. His first attempt in getting fake passports ended up being robbed and he nearly got busted while using his self-made bump key in the prison. It’s an emotional journey that might take some patience to tag along. Elizabeth Banks on the other hand is woefully miscast as Lara as she is obviously overshadowed by the much superb Crowe. Other supporting characters especially the detective roles are mostly laughable. For example, a certain Detective Quinn found John to be rather suspicious in the beginning but that was never follow up till the actual prison break. A little too late isn’t it? They contribute nothing to the story other than being extended cameos and that include Olivia Wilde who plays the mother of Luke’s playmate.
The last thirty minutes of the movie is Haggis’ debut attempt in flexing his action muscles even though you are likely suffering from lethargic by then. The drastic difference between the first hour and a half and last act proves that Haggis is much more adept at handling drama and characters. Even Quantum of Solace in which he wrote is far more exciting on paper than this. It never truly does a good job in gluing us to the screen as there’s lagging in both tension and suspense. There’s even an outrageous sequence by a distraught Lara to jump out of the car which causes it to spin uncontrollably on the highway. And we don’t really want to spoil you with the conveniently hatched Hollywood style ending as well.
"The Next Three Days" by no means is a bad movie. It’s just that with the participation of such high-calibre actor such as Crowe and writer/director Paul 'Crash' Haggis that you anticipate something far better than the end product, something more creative and intelligence perhaps. In conclusion, treating this as an indie crime thriller might be the best alternative.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The movie is heavily discussed by almost every actors, actress, producer and director in Cast & Crew Interviews.
Behind The Scenes runs approximately 8 minutes and it showcases some rehearsal sessions and B-roll footages.
The movie Theatrical Trailer round up the extras.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Shot on location in Pittsburgh, the images are occasionally gritty though overall colours are sharp and natural. The DVD comes with only a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack and it serve the dialogue sequences well. Unfortunately that can’t be said of the movie’s bombastic moments.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Posted on 1 April 2011
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