"The Next Three Days"

Runtime:  2 hr. 2 min.

Rated PG-13 for violence, drug material, language, some sexuality and thematic element

Cast: Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Brian Hennehy, Olivia Wilde

Director: Paul Haggis 

I'll say one thing about Paul Haggis... the man will absolutely live or die with the sword of cinematic risk-taking.  Consider, for a moment, what a tremendous leap of faith "Crash" was.  Most films apply simple, straightforward brush strokes to paint characters either as heroes or villains.  "Crash" threw that concept right out the window, opting instead to present characters both at their ugliest and their finest moments, and let the reactions fall where they may.  A daunting notion, to say the least, when the monetary stakes are set at a fever pitch.  The dice for that endeavor, however, came up sevens and resulted in an Oscar for Best Picture.  So, it's shocking that what worked to perfection for that movie appears to have scuttled "The Next Three Days", leaving it lost in a vast sea of mediocre films. 

As a standard genre jailbreak movie, Haggis' film is at the very least competent.  But you can tell he wants it to be more, as emotional complexity and moral ambiguity are worked into the mix.  Somehow, though, those traits never help the movie get beyond the confines of its genre framework.  The film is like a fledgling flame trapped beneath the weight of saturated timber.  Its lofty ambitions collide head-on with the standard genre thriller elements, resulting in a movie that comes off as confused and oddly dispassionate.

Based on a 2008 French film entitled "Anything for Her", the story wastes no time getting going, when one seemingly peaceful morning in the suburban Pittsburgh home of John and Lara Brennan (Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks), police burst through the door, arrest Lara, and charge her with the murder of her boss.  John, an English professor at a nearby college, is convinced his wife is innocent, and maintains constant pressure on his lawyer to file appeals, until the lawyer (Daniel Stern) finally counters with:  "Look at the evidence, John.  I'm not saying believe it.  But understand... Lara is never getting out!"  This, of course, is unacceptable to a loving husband who struggles to find a balance between fighting for his wife and taking care of his son, Luke (Ty Simpkins).  He decides to take much more drastic measures, and the rest of the movie follows John as he navigates the dangers in plotting to break his wife out of prison and leave the country.

Is Lara innocent?  When we first see her, it's during a rather uncomfortable scene in an upscale restaurant, as she and John dine with John's brother and sister-in-law.  During the course of the meal, Lara gets into a heated debate with the sister-in-law, resulting in a shockingly intense verbal dispute... just shy of a screaming match.  All the while John himself seems curiously amused by the situation, blissfully ignorant of what might or might not be sociopathic tendencies displayed by his wife.  Those touches, reminiscent of Haggis' work, set the stage for an emotionally involving, controversial picture that seems bound to raise questions and ignite debates on the story's subject matter.  But once the plan is hatched to break Lara out, the movie's atmosphere changes, and the genre elements take control.  Those elements are handled well enough, but the movie has lost its footing at that point, and ping-pongs back and forth between a thoughtful, emotionally-complex drama and a routine jailbreak potboiler.  Once the narrative bearings went, my interest went as well.

I have not seen the French film upon which this one is based, but I find myself struggling to understand what made Haggis want to remake it, as it seems to run counter to the kind of complex and thoughtful storytelling Haggis is known for.  The plot here has a very distinct genre feel... one that wouldn't necessarily lend itself to being transcended into something more morally complex.  The endeavor reminds me of what A-lister Frank Darabont tried (unsuccessfully, in my opinion) to do with "The Mist".  Sometimes genre films are better left to those who seem to revel in making them (i.e. Tony Scott's "Unstoppable").

As a jailbreak potboiler?  Yeah, I suppose it more or less stays afloat.  It's competent enough.  And the performances do keep up with the material, especially the supporting ones, including Liam Neeson as an escape "expert" who offers much-needed tips of the trade, Olivia Wilde as an unusually sympathetic single mother who watches over John's son while he puts his plan in motion, Daniel Stern as John's lawyer, Tyrone Giordano ("The Family Stone") as a deaf passport forger who offers his support, Brian Dennehy as John's father, Kevin Corrigan ("Big Fan") as a crystal meth dealer, and Lennie James and Jason Beghe as two police detectives; one with dogged determination and the other who begins to suspect he missed something during the initial investiagtion. 

Am I being unfair here?  Perhaps.  But fair or not, Haggis set the standard for himself pretty high with "Crash", the underappreciated "In the Valley of Elah", not to mention the screenplay for "Million Dollar Baby."  He thrives in complex narrative territory.  I, for one, hope he gets back to that soon.

* *  out of  * * * * stars