365 Days. 365 Films.

Susan Sarandon is a nun, Sister Prejean, who is asked to be the spiritual advisor of convicted murderer Matthew Poncelet, played by Sean Penn. Although Matthew claims not to have actually committed murder, he is sentenced to execution and must redeem himself and his faith before his time is up.

I’m not going to lie, it isn’t the easiest film to watch… The performances of both Sarandon and Penn are unbelievable – easily the best performances from each of them, making this a very moving film and a struggle to watch emotionally.

The film is directed by actor Tim Robbins, and I believe that this is the first film I have seen to be directed by him, but he is a brilliant director. He has a rather subtle tone in his direction, utilising his actors to provoke the main thoughts and emotions, but he compliments their performances with his use of camera angles and movements.

This is a film similar to The Green Mile, but perhaps without the slightly supernatural element to it. It is plainly and simply a film about a man’s emotional struggles in his final days before he is executed. Not for the easily shocked or overly emotional, this will not be an easy film to watch, but if you do watch it, you will love it for all the right reasons.