The lead character in “The Next Three Days” deserves the Husband of the Year award in perpetuity.
Russell Crowe plays a man who risks everything to spring his wife from prison for a crime she didn’t commit.
Or did she?
“Days” towers above today’s generic thrillers, in part thanks to Crowe and co-star Elizabeth Banks. But writer/director Paul Haggis knows the key to an implausible movie is the near perfect balance between obstacles and victories.
And “Days” divvies them up just right to keep our breath caught in our throats.
In “Days,” Crowe plays John, a community college professor whose wife Lara (Banks) is hauled away on murder charges mere minutes into the film. The evidence, on the surface, is damning. The victim’s blood is on Lara’s coat, her fingerprints are all over the murder weapon and the two engaged in a heated fight earlier that day.
John refuses to believe his wife, shown to have a quick fuse in the opening sequence, is capable of murder. But when the remaining legal options disappear he takes drastic measures.
Think prison break, rumpled Everyman style.
That means John must vacate his comfort zone, break the law when necessary and consult with a veteran prison escapee (Liam Neeson in an odd cameo) to get the job done . Thank goodness there’s Youtube videos featuring the finer points of picking locks and starting cars sans keys.
Haggis, an uneven director (“Crash,” “In the Valley of Elah’) with a penchant for punching up scripts (“Casino Royale”) gives the characters in “Days” more humanity than most genre thrillers receive. John isn’t a superhero, nor is Lara a saint. In fact, we’re not quite sure if John is aiding and abetting a killer.
“The Next Three Days” plays tag with reality, and it’s hard to swallow many of the events on display. But Haggis manufactures tension by the push and pull of John’s plan. For every minor success comes a failure, and while it’s the kind of tug of war that could only exist in a screenwriter’s imagination we’re too invested in the couple’s marriage to kevetch.
Crowe, asked to carry the film, does so without making John into anything but a man on a singular mission. He’s got a slight paunch like any professor might, and when he’s forced to fire a weapon there’s no telling where the bullets will go.
Banks is his equal despite having far less screen time, turning what might have been a vacant role into a thing of substance – and heart.
“The Next Three Days” is too long and asks far too much of its audience. But it rewards that patience with tart dialogue, two terrific actors and a conclusion that justifies the emotional expense.
(Photo: Luke (Ty Simpkins, left) and John Brennan (Russell Crowe, right) stars in “The Next Three Days.” Photo credit: Phil Caruso)
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