THE NEXT THREE DAYS (REVIEW)
Rated
M - 123 mins
Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Daniel Stern, Brian
Dennehy, Olivia Wilde
The world of a loving couple is torn
apart overnight in this prison break thriller heavy on human drama.
Like
him or loathe him, Russell Crowe is unsurpassable as college professor, not the
hair dresser, John Brennan. A perfect choice for the simple man who is about to
transform full-circle. After a lovely night out with his wife Lara, police storm
their home the following morning accused of murdering her boss in cold blood.
John is devastated, confused, even remorseful, but carries on with life raising
their young son as Lara sits it out waiting for an appeal from a bunch of rather
ordinary lawyers.
Time passes, Lara becomes suicidal, so John
goes far beyond his comfort zone, taking it upon himself to sort something out
with the help of the local riff-raff. Going deep into the Pittsburgh underworld
in search of a weapon with a drug dealer is an unforgettable scene. As an ordinary
man pushed into desperation, things don't go smoothly with the outcome not pretty.
Another such dramatic consequence is when John talks to an escape expert played
by Liam Neeson, spouting a monologue crackling with intensity. His words have
the effect equivalent of fingernails screeching across a blackboard.
Crowes
advancing age benefits his character. Pot bellied and slumping, his embroilment
with controversy escalates at a rapid clip. Without a clue, fumbling around using
skeleton keys and flashing fake passports, his attempted jailbreak of his 'innocent'
wife goes into overdrive with an action packed final stanza. More familiar in
comedies such as 'Meet Bill & '40 Year old Virgin', a persuasive Elizabeth
Banks has most of her scenes as Lara incarcerated. Creating doubt behind bars
with a devilish smile, things go awry in the plot when you least expect it to,
a trick the great Alfred Hitchcock did in his sleep.
Veteran
actor Brian Dennehy pops into proceedings as a family member willing to risk everything,
but never quite sure if the plan is conceivable, just like the screenplay actually.
Oscar winning director for the underrated 'Crash', Paul Haggis, keeps things interesting
with good intentions, even after the protagonists unrealistic ideas fall into
place.
Shane A. Bassett
