My husband and I rented this film on DVD over the weekend. I wanted to see it just because Halle Berry stood blubbering on the stage at the Academy Awards for 2 minutes before uttering a word. I wanted to see if she was worth all the fuss. She definitely was not.
The film starts out pretty well. Billy Bob Thornton plays Hank, a corrections officer that performs executions. Halle plays Leticia, a waitress who becomes a widow and childless within a very short time. Their paths cross, and because of loneliness they are drawn together to comfort one another. Peter Boyle plays Hank’s invalid father, and Heath Ledger is in the film shortly as Hank’s son whom he wants to follow in the foot steps as a corrections officer. Sean Combs has a short, but memorable role as Letitcia’s jail confined husband. The story centers around Hank and Letitcia’s relationship. The odd pairing of a jailbird’s widow, and her husband’s executioner.
Billy Bob gave a fine performance, but Halle did not give a performance that was worth an Academy Award. She screamed and cried through much of the film, which is, ironically, what she did when she won the Academy Award. The story was great. Halle’s acting was marginal. Billy Bob’s character had much more depth and screen time.