No matter what the subject matter, Paul Haggis is a director who can always be depended upon to deliver a film with moral and ethical nuances. Crash and In the Valley of Elah offer ample testimony to the high caliber of his work and insight into the mysteries of human nature. The Next Three Days is adapted from Anything for Her, a 2008 French thriller directed by Fred Cavayé. Haggis has set the drama in Pittsburgh and he focuses on a principled and zealous husband who is determined to free his wife, who is in prison for a crime she claims she did not commit.
John (Russell Crowe) is a community-college English professor who is teaching about Don Quixote, an idealistic dreamer who is willing to do anything to bring justice to the world. Or, as John puts it, the novel (The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha) is about "the triumph of irrationality." This professor's life is rocked to the core when his wife Lara (Elizabeth Banks), is charged and convicted of murdering her boss in a parking lot at night. The evidence against her is the victim's blood on her raincoat and fingerprints on the murder weapon.
After three years in prison, Lara's appeals run out. Her lawyer (Daniel Stern) is not optimistic about reversing the sentence. In addition, Lara's young son Luke (Ty Simpkins), humiliated at school due to her imprisonment, has cut her off. After Lara unsuccessfully tries to commit suicide, John comes up with a crazy, last-ditch plan to bring his family back together.
In one of the most telling and unusual scenes in the film, John visits with Damon Pennington (Liam Neeson), an ex-con who has escaped from prison many times. Damon offers John a detailed explanation of the risks and challenges involved in such a dangerous and bold mission. Damon never got caught, but he turned himself in. The professor begins to design an elaborate plan to spring Lara from prison.
Overwhelmed by his care-taking responsibilities even though he is assisted by his parents, John is obsessive in his efforts — so much so that when an attractive single mother (Olivia Wilde) makes moves toward him, he remains totally committed to his mission of love. When he ventures into a violent neighborhood on a quest for fake passports and IDs, he gets a preview of the dangers to come.
Underneath the exciting conclusion of The Next Three Days is an undercurrent of deep dissatisfaction with the criminal justice system in the U.S. In so many cases, innocent people spend time in prison thanks to the incompetence of the police, detectives, the courts, the lawyers, juries, or judges. This dissatisfaction also came through loud and clear in Conviction, a recent movie about a sister's 18-year crusade to free her brother from prison.
Special features on the DVD include a commentary by the filmmakers; the "Making of The Next Three Days"; the men of The Next Three Days; true escapes for love; cast moments; and deleted and extended scenes.
