Chapter 1358 1358 Eye-Catching

The excitement at the screening of "Death Convict Walk" almost became the biggest news on December 15. Before the newspaper came out the next day, many local residents in Los Angeles jokingly thought that the headlines on the front page of the next day's news were inevitable. It was a title like "Hugo's new movie hits a movie-watching craze", but to everyone's surprise, the major newspapers' attention to the movie itself actually occupied the focus of attention.

In addition to "Entertainment Weekly", "USA Today", "Houston Chronicle", "New York Post" and other newspapers and media that have always attracted attention with the best news, many other media are the first time to "death row walk" The film was evaluated.

Among the many evaluations, Roger Ebert's film review published in the "Chicago Sun" undoubtedly attracted the most extensive attention, not only because of Roger's authoritative influence in the film critic circle, but also because of Roger's investment in this work. A lot of emotions can be felt, and Roger has a very deep feeling for the movie "Death Ramble".

"This is a film based on a true story, in which Sister Helen Prekin tells her own true experiences. The original is a book firmly opposed to the death penalty, with strong religious overtones, but in Tim Robbins deep Under the smooth shot, there is a touch of calmness and objectivity. He just tells the story and gives the audience the right to reflect.

The movie tells the story between the nun Helen and the death row prisoner Matthew. Matthew always insisted that he was innocent. Helen tried every effort to help Matthew appeal, but with Helen's persistent efforts, Matthew admitted. He apologized to the victim's family for his crime, and left this world peacefully and dignifiedly.

In fact, this is a very simple story, and it is the most legal movie. The core of its attention is not the case itself, but an inner struggle, from Matthew to Helen, from every participant in the story to the movie theater. Every audience, this is a spiritual impact and baptism, and everyone can taste different things from the story.

'Death Ramble' originally discussed the death penalty, but thanks to the delicate, explosive, real and infectious performance of the leading actor Hugo Lancaster, the film was further sublimated, allowing us to glimpse another theme: In addition to the responsibility of the parties behind the crime, should the society also undertake corresponding obligations? This also makes the whole film differentiate into two core themes, the first is the death penalty, and the second is Matthew.

Why did Matthew not plead guilty? This is probably the most direct feeling of every audience after watching the movie. Matthew is guilty. His hands are covered with blood. Matthew knows this clearly, but why does he always insist that he is innocent and never Willing to plead guilty?

Is it because Matthew is really cold-blooded? Obviously not. We can follow the clues in Matthew's conversation to seek the truth of the matter.

Matthew has repeatedly mentioned that he has not been treated fairly, including his rejection and dislike of the government, including his belief that the rich will not be on death row, and the way he and Carl get along. The truth of the matter is that it was Carl who led the tragedy. Although Matthew also participated in the whole case, it was done under Carl's instigation or even coercion. In the end, it was Carl who violently and brutally killed Hope - and this is precisely the point. It was one of the keys that led to Matthew being sentenced to death, but it was not carried out by Matthew.

From a legal point of view, Carl is the mastermind and Matthew is an accomplice, then Carl should be sentenced to death and Matthew should be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment; from a moral point of view, Carl and Matthew are both murderers, and they should both be sentenced to equality punishment. But the fact is that Karl was sentenced to imprisonment, and Matthew ended up with the death penalty.

Matthew is angry. His denial of guilt and his persistent appeal are actually his roars and accusations against society.

As a vulnerable group in society, Matthew's resistance seems too weak. His distrust of the government comes from the loopholes in the system, which makes his hard work unable to get an equivalent return. On the contrary, it is those 'lazy, opportunistic' black people People can live on welfare; his hatred of the law comes from the power of money, and spending more money to hire better lawyers can turn the tide—isn’t that an indictment of lawyers: what they’re after is not The truth is money.

Matthew denies his crimes, not because he is cold-blooded, but because he is bound by society and cannot break free. In the eyes of politicians, lawyers, and the media, he is just a visualized 'devil', just a realization The symbol of interest has no vitality at all, this is his roar in the final stage of his life.

Of course, even if the society has created Matthew's misfortune, this cannot be a word of relief for him to kill his life. Does being excluded from society must be excluded from society? Do you have to hurt society if you are hurt by society? What's more, when Matthew has his own concept of misfortune, indifference, and hatred, there are also standards of happiness, care, and kindness. These things have not disappeared from his experience. Support, perseverance in appointing lawyers, sincere concern from nuns... but all of this was forgotten because he was obsessed with his own misfortune.

When we condemn Matthew's cruelty and cold-bloodedness, we should also see that this 'devil' is not just a symbol, he is a product of society. Behind the cold society, there are thousands of such demons. This is not Alarmism, but reality. One Matthew disappears, and other 'Matthew' will appear, at least for now Carl is still alive.

The more Matthew refuses to plead guilty, the more he proves that he is unwilling to be excluded from society, and the more he proves his desire for human dignity. At the same time, it also became an opportunity for him to plead guilty.

The transformation from a person who is extremely anti-social to this step does make people feel the brilliance of Sister Helen's humanity, but this transformation is not completed by pure religion or moral preaching, it has experienced fierce struggle and competition. Judging from Matthew's refusal to admit his mistakes, it is too difficult to make Matthew sympathize with the family of the deceased, because in his opinion, the only wish of the family of the deceased is to hope that he will die soon, so relying only on the so-called scolding is doesn't work.

Pure hatred and pity cannot make Matthew confess his guilt and restore his humanity. Only true love can restore his conscience. Helen relies on this belief in love to influence Matthew. But the point is that the foundation of love is equality, and the meaning of love is human dignity.

Tim Robbins' handling of Helen was very successful. Instead of making her an empty missionary image, she won Matthew's respect by relying on her actions that were neither humble nor arrogant. Facing Matthew's provocation, she was righteous. Words say, 'I'm not here to entertain you, please respect me', 'Why? Because you are a nun and wear a cross necklace? ', 'Because I am a person and everyone deserves respect! ’ Helen relied on this gesture to gain Matthew’s trust.

When the inner spirit and outer action are highly unified, this makes Helen's persuasion to Matthew work. The universality of dignity shows that no one is a tool to accomplish some higher purpose. It is important for Matthew to truly realize that he is guilty, rather than imposed on him by others and society. So, Helen said, 'Matthew, atonement is not a way to go to heaven for free, only Jesus is responsible for paying the price. You have to take responsibility for your own redemption, and you have to work hard to atone for your sins. The Gospel of John tells us to know the truth, and the truth will set you free... If you are going to die, you must die with dignity, and if you want that, you must be responsible for the deaths of Walter and Hope. ’

Helen moved Matthew with her love, and made Matthew realize his mistake, finally admitted the crime, and sincerely apologized to the victim's family.

Matthew's death is not worthy of our sympathy, because it is the judgment of the law, because behind the disappearance of this life is the support of unforgivable sins; but Matthew's death deserves our reflection, whether we have the ability Make sin go away? Even if we are not nuns, we are not religious.

The recent discussion about the 'Seven Deadly Sins' has given people a better understanding of the indifference of society, but no solution was proposed in the movie at that time. Samose's confused and confused expression raised questions: even if we If we want to fight for this world, what should we do?

And this time, in 'Death Walk', Matthew's experience and Helen's sincerity have helped us find the answer. Hidden behind the social indifference, what we need is a sincere love, not sacrificing ourselves to achieve others Selflessness, because dignity is not a tool for us to accomplish our 'noble' purpose, but to treat others sincerely, put them on an equal position, give understanding and listen.

Maybe it's too much to ask us to do the same to a stranger, like Helen, to a murderer; but at least we can do it to our family, to our friends. In Matthew's long life, if he had met Helen earlier, or his mother had realized this earlier, wouldn't the tragedy have happened? Take a look at our family and our friends, maybe we will find an answer.

While Lancaster has put on a number of stellar performances throughout his career as an actor, including the most icy, bone-chilling performance in 'The Seven Deadly Sins', which is currently on show, this time he has no doubts made a breakthrough. The idea of ​​'Death Ramble' can be said to be a continuation of the dark style of 'The Seven Deadly Sins', but Lancaster's performance showed a true master style, using his wonderful performance to bring the theme of 'Matthew' into play. To the extreme, and then carried out a profound interpretation of the social problems left by the "Seven Deadly Sins", which makes people have to admire the amazing talent of this actor who is under 30 years old.

What should have been the death sentence of the film's core theme was reduced to a supporting role because of this epic show in Lancaster, leaving Matthew as the main character through and through, and the thoughtstorm sparked by Matthew is now just the beginning, from ' From the seven deadly sins to the death row walk, we should see the brilliance of human nature, the indifference of society, and the excellence of Lancaster!

In addition to Matthew, the film also shows a unique wisdom on the core topic of the death penalty. "