The Next Three Days Review: How much do you trust the ones you love?

Paul Haggis's new film, The Next Three Days, asks a simple yet complex question: how far would you go to protect someone you love?

John Brennan (Russell Crowe) and Lara Brennan (Elizabeth Banks) are a husband and wife that are deep in love and have a new born son, Luke. The family goes through the morning routine: eating breakfast, taking a picture together, getting ready for the day. Lara finds the coat she wore the night before and notices some blood on the collar. As she is washing the blood out, the police arrive. They come barging in and grab Lara, arresting her for the murder of her boss. Lara spends years in prison as John continues to appeal her case in ever legal venue he can. As the system continues to fail him, he realizes that if he is going to save Lara, he is going to have to take matters into his own hands.

The Next Three Days is a good film that has moments of complete excellence. The scene when Lara learns her appeal was denied is absolutely brilliant. There is no dialogue, just Russell Crowe sitting in a chair, waiting. When he looks Elizabeth Banks in the eyes, all that needs to be said is written on his face and she completely breaks down. It is an absolutely heartbreaking moment that is incredibly well acted and directed. The fallout from that moment is riveting. Watching as Crowe puts together his plan never ceases to be interesting. You're constantly left wondering how far he is willing to go. While the planning of the big escape plan is endlessly fascinating, the execution of the the plan is less so.

The escape sequence is impressively long and intricate, but it does begin to lag at times. Surprisingly it is the scenarios that would seem to be the most thrilling that are the least so. Running through hospital hallways and walking through Pittsburgh streets is gripping while a car chase on the highway seems overly long and dull, even with a pretty impressive stunt in the middle of it. The problem is that the bigger the action gets, the more it begins to feel like it belongs in another movie. The film is at its best when it keeps the action tight and claustrophobic. The most tense moment of the entire film involves simply standing in a line at an airport. In that moment, the full weight of the stakes can be felt and that creates immense suspense. Whereas in the bigger sequences, these stakes seem to be less urgent.

Another issue is the character of John. Admittedly, it is really interesting to watch Russell Crowe play against type. This is not a man that is the vigilante. When he buys an unregistered gun, he asks where to put the bullets. While he does go through change, he turns from the naive professor to the man that is willing to break the law, he is too committed to that change. There never seems to be a moment where he really questions what he is doing. There are moments of doubt, but they are not about whether or not John will go through with his plan, but when he will and how he will. Also, these moments of doubt are resolved so fast that they don't really have the chance to create any kind of suspense. The moment that feels most wasted is the moment when John seemingly doubts his wife's innocence. It is literally a moment. Before any kind of tension can develop, he reveals that he doesn't have any doubts. This not to say there is a problem with Crowe's performance. In fact, his performance is excellent. There just happen to be a few inherit lapses in his character.

But that may be the point.

The film seems to claim that the only way to achieve a plan like breaking out of prison is to be without doubt, to be iron-willed in your resolve. The only way to save someone you love is to have incorruptible faith in them. While that is interesting idea, it doesn't seems as interesting as the idea of continuing on in spite of doubts, of being so iron-willed in your resolve that you overrule your own doubts.

Overall The Next Three Days is good. It has its flaws that keep if from achieving greatness but none that are flagrant enough to make the film a failure. It is thrilling but also manages to find quiet moments that can be touching or heartbreaking. The performances by Elizabeth Banks and Russell Crowe are fantastic. They have to carry the weight of the film, Crowe in particular, and they pull it off. Paul Haggis's writing and direction have crafted a film that has intricacies in it that will definitely reward multiple viewings. It's a film that will leave you wondering how far you would go for those you love. Could you pull the trigger if you had to?