Dead Man Walking

Name: Dead Man Walking
Genre: Drama, Crime
Released: December 29, 1995
Duration: 122 min
Rating: 80
Cast: Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon

1995

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 26 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 57 Ratings

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7.6

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7.6	Your Score
7.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 57 Ratings

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DEAD MAN WALKING

Movie Details & Credits

Gramercy Pictures (I) | Release Date: December 29, 1995

Starring: Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon

Summary: Follows the relationship between a death-row inmate (Penn) and local nun (Sarandon) to whom he turns for spiritual guidance in the days leading up to his scheduled execution.

Director: Tim Robbins

Genre(s): Drama, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 122 min

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Awards & Rankings

13	#13 Best Movie of 1995
33	#33 Most Discussed Movie of 1995
63	#63 Most Shared Movie of 1995

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Entertainment Weekly - Owen Gleiberman

A bold, searching, wrenching experience. It may be the most complexly impassioned message movie Hollywood has ever made.

100

ReelViews - James Berardinelli

It's ironic that a film with this title should be among the most vital, alive, and challenging cinema experiences of the year. Read full review

Time - Richard Schickel

It is a measure of its complexity--and of the forces Penn and Sarandon have held in reserve during their hypnotic struggle for his soul--that its final moments leave us awash in emotion. Read full review

Washington Post - Desson Thomson

An extremely affecting experience, down to the last agonizing moment. Read full review

Austin Chronicle - Alison Macor

Robbins' direction and script are nearly flawlessly rich. There are no easy answers on death row, and Dead Man Walking makes this painfully, powerfully clear. Read full review

Mr. Showbiz - Anne Harris

This isn't a crowd-pleaser in terms of subject matter -- you've got a convict and a nun, with no love scenes -- but Robbins keeps it interesting.

The New Republic - Stanley Kauffmann

The picture is cloudy in intent. That cloudiness is deepened by Susan Sarandon's performance as Sister Helen. If she were giving the role what it seems to demand, a glow of true religious light, the film would have some organic cohesion, a strong spiritual cord running through it. But Sarandon does little more than present her face. [Feb. 5, 1996]

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User Reviews

Lissa

Nov 24, 2006

This made me change my views on the Death Penalty. Amazing film.

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SalmanH.

Oct 15, 2005

Awesome acting...not an easy movie to watch i must say....but thats the beauty of this movie....Penn and Surandon did deserved an award.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

WT_Gator

Aug 1, 2016

Totally absorbing, gut wrenching, confronting film. Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn completely blow the screen away. You forget you are watching a movie at all.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Mary

Mar 18, 2006

Makes you think again! Made me look this up to see what others thought because it clouded what I thought I knew for sure.

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MovieGuys

Aug 11, 2014

Dead Man Walking has great performances, relevant messages about life and controversial topics like the death penalty, and a fine story. However, the movie can be overly sentimental at times, plus it could've been cut a good 10 minutes. Nonetheless, it's worth a watch.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Compi24

Apr 23, 2013

Challenging, affecting, and uncommonly well-performed, "Dead Man Walking" earnestly displays a worthwhile and incisive loyalty to its powerful source material.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

mctrollol1269

May 30, 2012

Its was not an easy watch. Sean Penn's character almost never moves from the cell and talks to the nun from through bars. Structuring the film like this leads to a very boring script where nothing happens, it is predictable from start to finish. I would recommend this movie to someone whoIts was not an easy watch. Sean Penn's character almost never moves from the cell and talks to the nun from through bars. Structuring the film like this leads to a very boring script where nothing happens, it is predictable from start to finish. I would recommend this movie to someone who wants to consider the pro and cons of the death sentence, but it is definitely not an entertaining movie.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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