Penn's character is actually an amalgamation of two real-life condemned men, Elmo Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie, who were both executed within months of each other for separate murders. Prejean began her prison ministry in 1981. Through that activity she began writing to prisoners, eventually meeting Sonnier and Willie and tending to their spiritual needs. Her experiences with them led to her conviction that the death penalty is morally wrong.
After making his directorial feature debut with the political satire Bob Roberts (1992), Tim Robbins took a great leap with this intriguing, complex drama that was highly praised for its quiet courageousness and humanistic message about compassion, redemption, and forgiveness. The film received glowing reviews, not least for the riveting performances of Sarandon and Penn. In particular, Penn's work goes against the grain of sympathy, and critics noted that the actor and director do not take the easy route of trying to make the character likable or relatable while still driving home the courage of Prejean's belief in the value of saving every soul.
Although the men in Prejean's book were electrocuted, she and Robbins agreed the better approach in the movie would be to show Poncelet's death by lethal injection. In an interview, Prejean stated, "We don't want to give people the moral out whereby people could say 'Oh well, we used to do electrocution but that's too barbaric so now we are humane and inject them.'"
This was the second of three films in which Robbins directed his longtime partner Sarandon, from which he separated in 2009. It is, however, her only starring role under his direction, having played smaller parts in the ensembles of Bob Roberts and Cradle Will Rock (1999). Her work as Prejean earned her a fifth Best Actress Academy Award nomination and her first win to date. Penn was also nominated (along with Robbins and Bruce Springsteen for the title song). A few years later, both Penn and Robbins appeared together in Mystic River (2003) and were honored by the Academy for their work.
The film was shot on location almost entirely in Louisiana, including the state penitentiary in Angola. In addition to Sarandon and Robbins' two young sons, the cast included Robbins' father, mother, and sister in small roles. Prejean made a cameo appearance as a woman at an anti-death penalty vigil.
The director's brother, David Robbins, composed the score. The soundtrack also included songs by Johnny Cash, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Eddie Vedder. A soundtrack released in 1996 also included songs inspired by the movie (but not featured in the film) by Patti Smith, Tom Waits, Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Michelle Shocked, and Suzanne Vega.
In 2002, Robbins adapted his screenplay for a stage version. Rather than seek a professional production, he made the play available to schools and colleges with the stipulation that two or more academic departments incorporate death penalty issues in their curricula for at least one semester. Prejean's book also inspired an opera by Jake Heggie with libretto by award-winning playwright Terrence McNally. It premiered at the San Francisco Opera in 2000.
As affecting as the film is, it does not appear to have inspired much change in the practice of capital punishment in the U.S. According to Yvonne Koslovsky-Gola in her book The Death Penalty in American Cinema: Criminality and Retribution in Hollywood Film, public debate on the issue did rise for a time after the film's release but did not immediately bring about significant change beyond encouraging more academic study.
Prejean has continued her work with prison reform. She has been on the board of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty from 1985-1995, serving as chair from 1993 to 1995. She is also an honorary member of Murder Victim Families for Reconciliation, a member of Amnesty International and is presently the Honorary Chairperson of Moratorium Campaign. Prejean also advocates for and counsels death row inmates and families of murder victims as the founder of Survive.
Director: Tim Robbins
Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner (executive producers); Jon Kilik, Tim Robbins, Rudd Simmons
Screenplay: Tim Robbins, based on the book by Helen Prejean
Cinematography: Roger Deakins
Editing: Lisa Zeno Churgin, Ray Hubley
Art Direction: Tom Warren
Music: David Robbins
Cast: Susan Sarandon (Sister Helen Prejean), Sean Penn (Matthew Poncelet), Robert Prosky (Hilton Barber), Raymond J. Barry (Earl Delacroix), R. Lee Ermey (Clyde Percy), Celia Weston (Mary Beth Percy), Margo Martindale (Sister Colleen)
By Rob Nixon