With the abundance of action/suspense movies that find their way to the box office (see any of the “Borne” movies with Matt Damon as well as 2008’s “Taken” starring Liam Neeson) it is refreshing to see a movie find its way to theatres that doesn’t involve corporate or international espionage or mild-mannered husbands turned into superheros when family or loved ones are threatened. “The Next Three Days,” is a surprisingly suspenseful and action-packed movie without throwing its main character into the unbelievable hero role.
Taking place in Pittsburgh, PA, “The Next Three Days” stars Russel Crowe as John Brennan and Elizabeth Banks as Lara Brennan -an ordinary couple navigating the throes of family life. The movie could aptly be characterized by the opening scene. A nice dinner starts the movie’s innocence, showing husband and wife dining with friends at a cozy restaurant, and then an argument between Mrs. Brennan and another dinner guest shatters that innocence, showing the dark tones that lurk behind the movie’s quiet beginning.
Within 15 minutes of its opening, “The Next Three Days” reveals its hand. Police burst into the quiet Brennan home, seizing Lara, claiming she is responsible for the death of her boss who has turned up murdered. The Brennan’s fight. Lara loses. Blood on her coat and a recorded fight with boss the night of the murder (and lack of any other suspect) lands her in prison with all but an impossible way to prove her innocence. There is only Lara’s recollection of someone else being at the scene of the crime, who of course cannot be found, that can separate her from life in prison.
What follows is not a movie-inspired “Law and Order” episode, as it easily could have been, but a thriller that really only begins when Lara’s husband (a college English professor), played excellently by Russell Crowe, realizes that his wife is likely to spend the rest of her life in jail and leave him to raise their son alone unless he does something. Convinced of her innocence, he tries to appeal to lawyers to take her case. When this doesn’t work he jumps to the only option left to him. He plans to break his wife out of jail.
What makes this movie work is the fumbling innocence that Crowe manages to bring to the table. He does not appear a superman, studying prison blueprints and devising foolproof plans with the simplest of ease. When he solicits advice from an ex-con (Liam Neeson) who has escaped from prison several times, we can see the uncertainty and fear in Crowe’s face as he faces what it is he feels he needs to do. Brennan’s situation only worsens the deeper into the criminal abyss he travels. He is not a criminal, only an ordinary man, and it shows in his endeavors. Without giving away too much of the plot, Brennan accomplishes a transformation that readies him for the task of attempting to break his wife out of jail with a believability that is justified because of the experiences he is forced to undergo. With every step of the movie, Brennan suffers. The closer he gets to making his ultimate sacrifice for his wife, the more he suffers.
As his wife, Elizabeth Banks also does a good job portraying a woman in prison for a crime she didn’t commit, but finding no way to liberate herself nor accept her fate. And, as her husband’s plan operates unbeknownst to her, she has little to hope for as her already straining ties to her family weaken as she perpares to transfer to maximum security prison. She is alone. As the movie reaches its inevitable climax, however, we soon see that even amidst his solitary plans and secret scheme, Brennan himself is not alone, and has allies in the unlikeliest of places.
“The Next Three Days” is a solidly entertaining movie, with solid performances from its main cast, and great acting from its supporting cast. While not the usual movie you would expect from Crowe (whose action-hero resumé include such films as “Gladiator” and “Proof of Life,”) it delivers an unlikely hit amidst what could have easily been a throw-a-way film in the hands of lesser actors.
