Hello again all of you lonely misguided people out there, it's me again. Ready to drop a little more knowledge on all of you. And what will I be talking about today. I guess I'm going to do something that is really against the norm and talk about a movie. Today I had to pleasure and I do mean the extreme pleasure of going to see the movie, THE NEXT THREE DAYS. I guess I should start off by saying that I pretty much think that Paul Haggis is a movie god. There is something about his writing and now later in his career his directing that I find to be just fantastic. He always seems to focus on issues and characters that are so true to life that it seems to hit you right in the gut. And I feel like this movie does just that.
For those of you that don't know who Paul Haggis is check out movies such as CRASH, MILLION DOLLAR BABY, FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, THE LAST KISS, CASINO ROYALE, and IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH. I promise you that you will not be disappointed.
So let's get into the WHAT: This movie is essentially this suspense sort of thriller that has to do with a mother of what seems to be a pretty stable family going to prison for life for a murder that she may or may not have committed. And her husband and his struggle to try and break her out of prison.
Now here's the WHO: This movie features Russell Crowe in the lead role, the wonderful Elizabeth Banks who has personally captured my heart and is becoming one of my favorite women to see on camera. It also has Liam Neeson who is well Liam Neeson and really what else needs to be said. Also playing a very good but understated role is Olivia Wilde, who is just so super sexy in pretty much everything she's in. And even though in this movie she is playing an understated mom she is still sexy as ever.
Russell Crowe in this movie here is pretty much just vintage Crowe. He seems to carry this movie somewhat effortlessly as this distressed father and husband who beyond all belief believes in the innocence of his wife and will not give up hope and will not let her give up hope that the life in prison is not the life that they will live. Elizabeth Banks is also extremely good in this movie, playing a mother in wife that is in prison for murder for life and you can tell that it is all just breaking her down.
For me the thing about this movie is that at the heart of it if forces the audience to ask the question, is there anybody that you would go to these lengths for? Or do you think the person that you are with will go to these lengths for you. The thing about it is that it is a completely crazy question because this situation just probably won't come up in your lifetime, but we just always want to know that somebody loves us enough to risk it all for us. Even if it would never happen in a million years. I thought about that throughout the whole movie, and I was almost sad leaving knowing that at this very moment in my life there just might not be a person that I could do it for. Even though I really thought that at one point there was. But really that's neither here nor there.
The other great thing about this movie is the way that it is structured. The first act of the movie really jumps right into it. It starts off with Crowe and Banks at dinner with another couple, Banks just having a hard day, and her and the other woman at dinner get into a heated exchange out the roles of women and men at work. Then the next day the police bust in and arrest her for murder. Now it doesn't go through the whole trial and all that jazz, and a lot of what you think might have happened with the murder happens in brief flashbacks. The audience never really knows weather she is or isn't innocent, they only know that Crowe's character believes this.
Then the second act sets up a lot of the dramatic performances in the movie, with them losing the appeal and Banks trying to come to grips with that fact that she will be in jail for life, and then Crowe trying to put in motion this plan to break her out of prison even though he is just an average everyday person. he is not a criminal and really doesn't know what he is in for, all he knows is that he loves his wife, and just like she can't make it in prison, he won't be able to make it without her as well.
Then comes the third act and once it starts it grabs you and it just doesn't stop. I spend most of the third act trying to figure out where the twists and turns were going to come from and I never could. It just kept hitting me from every angle and I will literally at the edge of my seat throughout. You just can't help but wonder are they going to get out or how are they going to get caught. For me it really is a beautifully crafted script and to tell you the truth I expect nothing less from Mr. Haggis. I won't give it all aways because I feel that you all need to get out there and check it out right now. This is the season for all those wonderful movies that a lot of people out there will overlook and come next year.
So until next time folks, don't start nothin',won't be nothin'
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