A Lesson Before Dying

1999 "A young man's destiny becomes a teacher's journey."
6.7| 1h41m| PG-13| en
Details

In the 1940s South, an African-American man is wrongly accused of the killing a a white store owner. In his defense, his white attorney equates him with a lowly hog, to indicate that he didn't have the sense to know what he was doing. Nevertheless convicted, he is sentenced to die, but his godmother and the aunt of the local schoolteacher convince school teacher go to the convicted man's cell each day to try to reaffirm to him that he is not an animal but a man with dignity.

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Reviews

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.
UnowPriceless hyped garbage
KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Gordon-11 This film is about a black man wrongly convicted of murder in America back in the 40's. A teacher unwillingly starts to visit him, and forms a bond that change them both forever."A Lesson Before Dying" is a great film. The character portrayal and their dialogs consistently shine. The supportive Vivian's lines are positive and encouraging, and she evokes strength and courage in others. Her line about how "Everytime a black little one is born, they hope he is the one" is heartbreaking. It encapsulates their desperate despair and their remote hope all in a few words.Edna Guidry, though a minor character, is very memorable because of her pretentious and superficial dialogs. When there is clearly an agenda in the tea meeting, she keeps on saying irrelevant things and keeps on ordering the maid to bring more alcohol. It shows how severe and scathing the discrimination is towards black people in those days. Grant Wiggins' bond with Jefferson is developed convincingly. Though this bond is brief, its effect is everlasting. I also find the struggle of faith in the film portrayed well.The whole story in very convincing and touching. It keeps me wanting to know more. It is powerful. "A Lesson Before Dying" should earn just as much recognition as "Dead Man Walking".
k h I taped this film when it was on tv and come back to it every so often. It is very well done, superbly crafted, and the storytelling is excellent. But what keeps me watching is the performances, specifically Don Cheadles. This man is quite simply a great actor, he is where Denzel was ten years ago. Cicely Tyson remains one of our greatest assets, and the whole cast brings a sensitivity and authenticity to it that makes it sing. Worth watching with your kids, it has valuable lessons for us all.
lavunt This movie is a great work, and hopefully has made it's way into our history education here in the states. The only negative I can find concerning this movie, is that such events occur in our world. Like life, the happy ending is all to often, only a barely tolerable out come to an injustice. Most times it's not even that. I vote a full board on this one, from cast and crew, to content and style
Siobhan-4 This was a beautiful, touching movie. The title seems only to refer to the wrongly convicted man, but I found it to involve all the characters. Though Jefferson learned a lot about believing in himself from Grant, Grant also learned about faith from Jefferson. We viewers learned a lot from all of these characters.