“Everyone is worth more than their worst act,” said Roman Catholic sister and anti-death penalty advocate Helen Prejean, and it’s with these words that “45 Seconds of Laughter” closes. It’s an apt sentiment on which to leave Tim Robbins’ sincerely felt documentary study of the therapeutic acting workshops run by his own theater company in a California prison — not least because the film is itself at pains to identify its human subjects only by their present, not their past. But if it’s also an obvious callback to Robbins’ penitentiary-set 1995 drama “Dead Man Walking,” which won Susan Sarandon an Oscar for playing Prejean, the self-reference doesn’t exactly flatter the new film: Occasionally heart-stirring but also rather slight, Robbins’ mellow first foray into docmaking is far removed from his pre-millennial era of artistic and political urgency.
“45 Seconds of Laughter” is, in fact, Robbins’ first big-screen directorial outing since 1999’s “Cradle Will Rock,...
“45 Seconds of Laughter” is, in fact, Robbins’ first big-screen directorial outing since 1999’s “Cradle Will Rock,...
- 9/20/2019
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
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