Death Row

Charlotte Cory (Connie Nielsen) is on death row for the kidnapping and murder of a child - but did she do it? Aidan Quinn plays an ex-defense lawyer who makes money selling the last letters of condemned prisoners to the highest bidder (apparently, such letters fetch tens of thousands of dollars). Because Cory's case is so rare, he sees the chance to make half a million dollars on her last letter. He pretends to be a friend of her father's in order to get close to her, but he ends up becoming emotionally engaged in her situation, and falling in love with her.

Return To Sender is a low-key character drama, extremely well-acted, realistic, touching and just generally well-rounded. I was absorbed by it throughout, and can't think of a single thing wrong with it. It keeps the suspense going right until the satisfying end. A great achievement by everyone involved.

Aidan Quinn leads a stellar cast in CONVICTED, the gripping tale of a lawyer/writer who uncovers new information regarding a woman convicted of kidnaping and killing an infant. Connie Nielson plays the convicted woman due to be executed within days, and Kelly Preston is her new attorney. Quinn becomes convinced the woman did not kill the child, and in fact no body was ever found and there is very little evidence to tie the woman to the kidnaping itself. It's a race to the finish as the clock ticks down on her execution date. The plot is nothing new, but CONVICTED plays out like a first-rate murder mystery, with lots of twists and turns -- and a truly unexpected and unforeseen ending. Tim Daly of WINGS plays a pivotal role as the convicted woman's brother-in-law, and he and Quinn, Nielson and Preston are all at the top of their game. Nielson is particularly convincing as the deeply troubled and fatalistic convict. CONVICTED plays out like a good novel, the highest compliment I can give any movie.

First of all, I liked this movie. Connie Nielsen, Adain Quinn and Kelly Preston are all terrific actors (especially Nielsen, who's been a favorite of mine since Gladiator) and all do supreme justice to their roles. That said, I didn't know much about this movie (nothing actually) when I rented it and was very disappointed to find that it was just another message movie which told us, the ignorant, just how evil capital punishment really is. The crowds at the prison just before the execution were all stupid redneck types shouting obscene comments. Nowhere did you see a Mike Ferrell type and his equally moronic crazies. Also, many of the comments made by the actors were about as subtle as a sledgehammer. I wish Hollywood would go back to making movies that tell a story and quit trying to sell their left-wing agendas.

Listed on IMDb under the primary title of Return to Sender (2004) by pretty much unknown to me Danish director, Bille August (except for The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones), is about a woman on death row who is going to let herself be executed in order to protect some one else. Excellent performances by Danish stunner, Connie Nielson (the reason I rented the movie) who never looked better than here in understated prison makeup, and Aidan Quinn (as a letters from death row inmates bounty hunter) in a tight script that starts off like it's going to be an evils of capital punishment vehicle, but turns into something else, which I can only call the value of truth without giving too much away.

It was only released in the US on DVD last November, but set here and filmed here and in Denmark. There aren't any external reviews in English, and only one review on IMDb that panned it. I'd have gone to see this in the theater. 7+/10.

"Return To Sender" aka "Convicted" is a first-rate drama. The plot is: Charlotte Cory (Connie Nielsen) is on death row. There's only a week until her execution. Her lawyer (Kelly Preston) is running out of options to save her. Then Frank Nitzche (Aidan Quinn) comes into the picture. He wants to prove Charlotte's innocence, but he has a lustful attraction for her that's derailing the investigation. Can Charlotte be saved?

The main problem with the movie is that it feels forced to go clichéd. I say that because the mystery aspect of the film doesn't work. It overcomes that because of the acting and directing. The whole cast is great. Aidan Quinn stands out. Connie Nielsen and Kelly Preston do a fine job. There was no reason for this movie to go direct-to-video. It should've had a shot in the theaters. In the end: Watch for the actors and get annoyed that studios dump hidden gems into the video market.

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