Talk about doing what you set out to do! This film gave me a big slap in the face and a kick in my.... rear end and told me, "Stop making excuses, stop giving up, and do something!"
Before I go any further, I'd encourage you to watch this film. Sometimes people read what a movie is about and they decide they don't need to watch it anymore. You'd be wrong to think the same about this film. So watch it!
The film tells the story of a convicted brother sentenced to life in prison without parole, and the determined sister working to get him out. Both from a family of nine children, brought back and forth between foster homes, and bleak opportunities. In order to achieve what seemed impossible, the sister obtained her GED, get a bachelor's degree, apply to law school and become a lawyer, all the while raising two young boys and working as a waitress. All this and 18 years later, he is freed thanks to her. Do you see the double entendre of the film's title?
You know a film is good when the character is played by an actor you don't have a positive image of, but you end up rooting for that character, feeling happy when things go well for him, and feel like crying when things don't. That actor is Sam Rockwell. I first remember him from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) as Zaphod Beeblebrox, in Green Mile (1999) as the violent murderer Wild Bill, and in Iron Man 2 (2010) as idiot and evil businessman Justin Hammer. However in this film, there was a feeling of endearment and sympathy for a man with many faults no doubt, but an innocent brother and father. Hilary Swank's performance is also very good.
Something appealing about this film is it's take on the system of justice. It makes you wonder, how many people are wrongfully convicted whose lives have been forever and drastically changed? Can anything be done for them? Is there anything being done for them? Do they have any hope if they don't have a Betty Anne Waters working for a law degree to get them out of jail?
Another thing I loved about this film is that it posses the question, "What would you do for a another person? Would you make that great sacrifice for another person?" It's not an easy question. Often times we think about ourselves and say that it wouldn't be fair to give up our lives for another person, undeserving or not. Other's would yell out "YES!" in less than a heartbeat. Sure there's the factor of how much you care for and love the person, but in my opinion, it also involves the matter of choice. What a person chooses to do or not do for another is, to me, an expression of love or lack thereof. Early in the film we are shown the deep and strong bond that these two siblings shared from a young and troubled age. Obviously they chose to stay by each other, they chose to love each other.
Favorite Quote:
"Even if it had taken you another 20 years or so, I would've been ok... knowing you were out here, working so hard for me, knowing that you loved me that much." -Sam Rockwell as Kenneth "Kenny" Waters.
