The Next Three Days: movie review
With most movie thrillers, implausibility comes with the territory. 鈥�The Next Three Days鈥� takes that territory into uncharted terrain. Suspension of disbelief rapidly gives way to 鈥淥h, puhleeze.鈥�
Russell Crowe, in one of his wily, sodden renditions, plays John Brennan, a Pittsburgh literature professor whose wife, Lara (Elizabeth Banks), shortly after the film鈥檚 halcyon opening, is imprisoned for supposedly killing her boss. With a young son to take care of, John spends the next three years trying to prove Lara鈥檚 innocence only to realize that the chances of reopening her case are nil. So John does what any good husband would do: He decides to spring her from prison.
This isn鈥檛 a bad premise for a thriller, and it even has a psychological angle that鈥檚 potentially intriguing 鈥� in trying to rescue his wife, John transforms himself into the sort of cold-blooded avenger she could never love. (The source material is a 2008 cult French thriller, 鈥淎nything For Her,鈥� that ran a full half hour less than this film鈥檚 unnecessarily long 133 minutes.)
Writer-director Paul Haggis (鈥�Crash鈥�) stumbles early on. The flashbacks replaying the boss鈥檚 murder are so ineptly staged that it鈥檚 difficult to know if we are meant to be confused 鈥� or is it Haggis who鈥檚 confused? The biggest problem is John鈥檚 unconvincing transformation into a kind of rumply ninja. Early on he gives a lecture to his students on 鈥�Don Quixote,鈥� and I guess this is meant to explain his quixotic quest to save Lara.
But there鈥檚 a big difference between fantasy and reality, even if you鈥檙e a college professor. (Couldn鈥檛 Haggis at least have made him an ex-Navy SEAL with a hankering for the classics?) According to this film鈥檚 logic, you are what you teach. I suppose we should be glad John wasn鈥檛 lecturing on 鈥淐rime and Punishment.鈥�
John picks up his jail-break skills mainly through the Internet. (Don鈥檛 try this at home.) He also has a quick confab with an ex-con (a dour Liam Neeson), who warns him that the hard part isn鈥檛 the escape but the aftermath, when the hunt is on.
The hunt should have come a lot sooner. Until the time when John鈥檚 plan goes into hyperdrive, 鈥淭he Next Three Days鈥� is all buildup. In its final half-hour, all the stops are pulled. The movie is still wildly implausible but at least it鈥檚 hurtling forward. The only thing missing from the proceedings is a windmill for John to tilt at. Or maybe I missed it. Grade: B- (Rated PG-13 for violence, drug material, language, some sexuality, and thematic elements.)
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