The family man Wade Porter (Stephen Dorff) is living the American Dream with his girlfriend Laura (Marisol Nichols) and their son Michael: they have a nice house, he has just raised a loan to make his company grow and they are going to get married. However their dream becomes a nightmare when Wade unintentionally kills a burglar that had broken into their house in the middle of the night on his lawn. He is sent to trial and accepts a deal proposed by the prosecutor, being sentenced to three years in prison. During the transportation, there is an incident in the bus and Wade is framed and sent to the maximum security wing under the command of the corrupt Lieutenant Jackson (Harold Perrineau). His cell-mate John Smith (Val Kilmer) that was sentenced to life revenging the death of his family befriends Wade and gives helpful advices and hope to Wade to return to his family.
The good "Felon" is another movie that discloses the corruption and brutality in the American Penal system, where the rules of a civilized society are neither followed by the inmates nor by most of the security guards. The dramatic story is engaging, and it is great to see Val Kilmer having again a top-notch performance after a long period of weak movies. Stephen Dorff is also great in the role of a family man that is unfairly imprisoned for protecting his family and dehumanizes and desensitizes to survive in the prison. The unrealistic conclusion is commercial and moralist, reducing the power and impact of the plot. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Felon"
