A tense and cliché-free thriller from Paul Haggis asks how far we should go for love...

After a rare spike in the Paul Haggis filmography with an under-whelming Quantum of Solace, the three-time Oscar winning writer/director is back to his successful formula of gritty drama interspersed with action set-pieces. The Next Three Days is a picture that develops slowly, springing to life in a pulsating, white-knuckle finale, a ‘will he, won’t he’ scenario that will have you gripping the edges of your seat.

The story starts innocently enough: John and Lara Brennan (Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks) are out to dinner with Lara’s boss and her husband. What begins as a friendly meal soon turns ugly as the two women become involved in an argument about, frankly, very little at all. Five minutes later and Lara is locked up for twenty years for a murder she denies committing. Whether she was guilty is never contended by English teacher John, who three years later, has run out of ideas and money to prove her innocence. Trouble with his son Luke, mixed with Lara’s suicidal tendencies, proves a heady cocktail and leads John to a meeting with legendary prison-escapee Damon (Liam Neeson) who lays the foundations for John to attempt an audacious and reckless prison break.

It’s difficult to describe The Next Three Days as true ‘popcorn entertainment,’ because, despite the presence of Crowe and Neeson, this is a slow-burner, a ticking time bomb where the expectation for what we know is about to take place is drawn out to prolong the tension. For the most part, this works, though at the back of my mind is always that nagging question of whether anyone, Russell Crowe included, could ever love someone enough that they would so brazenly risk their own freedom for them, especially with a young child to consider. Then again, that is the very question at the heart of the film, and there is no prerogative that we agree or not, just as with Haggis’ belief in Crash that all of us carry a certain discriminatory baggage around with us.

From a film realist’s perspective, it is pleasing that there are far fewer clichés here than in any number of recent Hollywood pictures, and the key turning points come at precisely the right moments to maximize the suspense. Crowe is fairly convincing, given the circumstances of his character, but there is always going to be an element of predictability, even when he clumsily tries to buy fake passports from some shady dealers. His son Luke, however, gives a particularly nice turn in a supporting role and is the cause of one of the best moments which I won’t give away. Elizabeth Banks, in her few scenes, offers a good account of herself and seems to have a great chemistry with Crowe.

The Next Three Days - a remake, by the way, of French film Pour Elle – is a worthwhile watch. However, if you enjoy a munch during a picture, sneak out after an hour to buy it; otherwise the snacks will all be gone by the time you get to the good stuff.

The Next Three Days is released on the 7th of January 2011

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