Film review: The Next Three Days

Perhaps one of the first actors not to wear tights as Robin Hood (in Ridley’s Scott 2010 version of one of Hollywood’s most beloved stories), Russell Crowe may be back on the Oscar-winning track in his most recent film, The Next Three Days.

He stars as John Brennan, a sturdy (yet quite charming), clumsy professor, very happy with his picture-perfect family life: he is in love with his wife, Lara (played by Elizabeth Banks), and a great father to his young son, Luke (Ty Simpkins). All this comes to an end, however, when Lara is charged with murder and her husband tries in vain to get her out through all legal means in the following three years.

The knowledgeable yet shy professor becomes both father and mother to his son, who now refuses to talk to his actual mother. The beautiful and feisty Lara is herself broken down while in prison and seems to lose all hope of ever being released, slowly turning into a desperate and fearful shadow of who she used to be.

The movie’s rather slow initial pace is dramatically overturned with John’s decision to resort to less legal means of getting his wife out of jail, once the more socially-acceptable avenues have, one by one, run out. A man with a plan, John is no longer afraid to heed the most reckless advice, given by an expert escape artist (Academy Award nominee Liam Neeson).

The quiet and peaceable John Brennan, regarded by his friends and family as perhaps too much of an idealist, turns to the most unexpected means in his plan, against all odds and without anyone knowing. There are certain moments in the film when his morality is questioned and one could even doubt his sanity or good intentions, but this is all part of the movie’s well sown mounting suspense, which will definitely keep the viewer glued to the screen.

Keep your ears open for the movie’s soundtrack, which might lead to an Oscar nomination for composer Danny Elfman. One of the most touching moments of the film is perfectly marked by the song Mistake, performed by Moby.

Director Paul Haggis, whose CV includes helming 2005 blockbuster Crash and writing the script for Million Dollar Baby, directed by Clint Eastwood, is responsible for the screenplay for The Next Three Days, an adaptation of the French film Pour Elle (Anything for Her), written by Fred Cavye, who collaborated with Haggis on the American version.

An initially predictable Hollywood yarn about love and dedication, The Next Three Days is the kind of movie that surprises. Expect the unexpected about this film, a good, even thought not excellent cinematic experience, however, well worth spending around two hours in the cinema for.