The Next Three Days (2010)
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A desperate husband attempts to orchestrate a complex prison break to save his wife from a wrongful murder conviction.
The story
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Lara Brennan is sentenced to life in prison for murder. Three years later, her young son Luke ceases to acknowledge her during prison visits, despite the efforts of her husband John. Following the failure of Lara's appeal, her lawyer urges John to accept the evidence: after a public fight with her boss, Lara was seen leaving the parking lot where her boss was bludgeoned with a fire extinguisher; though Lara claims to have bumped into the real suspect, her fingerprints were on the murder weapon and the victim's blood was found on her coat. Out of legal options, Lara attempts suicide, and John becomes determined to break her out of prison.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
John consults former inmate Damon Pennington to prepare for a prison break from Allegheny County Jail. After various setbacks, including being robbed and nearly caught, John manages to secure forged documents and a handgun. Learning Lara will be transferred to a high-security prison in three days, John prepares to rob a bank but instead sets fire to a meth lab to obtain cash. He eventually plants falsified blood tests in a medical van to facilitate Lara's transfer to a hospital. At the hospital, John incapacitates guards and convinces Lara to escape. They evade police in Pittsburgh and flee toward Buffalo, New York. After a tense journey involving a police checkpoint, they reach a Canadian airport and board a flight to Venezuela using fake passports. A flashback reveals Lara's innocence as a detective misses a button in a storm drain that would have substantiated her alibi. The film ends with John taking a picture of his sleeping wife and son in a hotel in Caracas.
- First release year
- 2010
- Runtime (minutes)
- 133
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Paul Haggis
- Writers
- Paul Haggis · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Russell Crowe · John; Elizabeth Banks · Lara Brennan; Brian Dennehy; Olivia Wilde; Liam Neeson
- Genres
- action; thriller; crime; drama
- Themes
- miscarriage of justice; sacrifice; courage; devotion
- Tone and mood
- tense; romanticized; thrilling
- Premise and plot tags
- prison escape; wrongful conviction; action thriller; remake
- Source material / true-story basis
- Pour elle (Anything for Her) (2008)
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with a 50% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a weighted average of 52 on Metacritic. It was a moderate box office success, grossing $67.5 million worldwide on a $30 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 50% · review count: 168; Metacritic · score: 52 · scale: 100 · review count: 36; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Irish Film and Television Award · Best International Actor · Nomination
- Production trivia
- Paul Haggis based the lead character on himself, including his research into prison break techniques.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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