Film #7 The Next Three Days

The Next Three Days is the slightly less poetic name for Paul Haggis’ remake of French thriller Anything For Her, a film which I enjoyed for its break neck pace and tension. Haggis’ version does well in maintaining said tension. Unfortunately though, he decided to slow the story down for his version, making the running time about half hour longer. This probably wasn’t such an issue for anyone who was seeing the film for the first time. However I couldn’t help but feel that the film could have been a lot more concise. 

   After his wife is imprisoned for the murder of her boss, John Brennan (Russell Crowe) is certain she is innocent and becomes obsessed with the idea of breaking her out of prison. After consulting known criminal and successful prison escapee Damon Pennington (Liam Neeson in a very enjoyable cameo), he sets the plan in motion that, if successful, will uproot him and his family into a new life on the run. Haggis, despite the films over flabbiness in what is basically a beat for beat re-telling of the original story, has created a standard yet credible remake. Russell Crowe’s everyman forced into a new life of crime is what carries the film through some of its weaker moments, namely most scenes with Elizabeth Banks as his incarcerated wife. Where every time she was required to cry or pretty much react to anything results in some annoying stilted facial expression.

 Haggis does well to rearrange certain plot elements to a more successful effect. The main example being the reveal in which it is found out whether his wife is indeed guilty or not. This is something that is revealed very early in the original, and if I was reviewing that right now, I’d have no problem spoiling it. However the ambiguity makes for a much more interesting outlook into John Brennan, and whether he really has the same doubts as the audience.

   There is something to be offered from this version of the film, and if you are unfamiliar with the story you may even want to add a point. However those who have seen Anything For Her will probably want to stick to the version they know best. In spite of Crowe’s glowing nuanced performance.

3/5