Russell Crowe has had one of the most interesting careers of any actor working in Hollywood today. While there was an era where his performances in modern classics such as Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander: Far Side of the World, and Cinderella Man suggested that he could become one of the greatest actors of all-time, Crowe has spent the last few years making poorly-received genre films; while there may be fans of The Pope’s Exorcist and Unhinged that claim that they are “guilty pleasures,” they certainly don’t compare to the brilliance that Crowe displayed in The Insider and American Gangster. However, there was a brief period in which Crowe would take on these seemingly straightforward genre projects and elevate them into truly thought-provoking pieces of drama. The Next Three Days is an inventive thriller about the origin of criminality, and gave Crowe the rare opportunity to team up with Liam Neeson.
What Is ‘The Next Three Days’ About?

Serving as a loose remake of a 2008 French crime film, The Next Three Days stars Crowe as the mild-mannered businessman John Brennan, who is taken off guard when his wife, Lara (Elizabeth Banks), is accused of murder. Although Lara swears innocence in the court proceedings, she is convicted and sentenced to an extended prison sentence. As Lara loses all hope and even contemplates suicide as a means of escape, John recognizes that there is no legal way in which he will be able to provide justice. As their son, Luke (Ty Simpkins), continues to struggle socially in the aftermath of his mother’s arrest, John decides to stage a heist in which he can break her out of prison. To gain the necessary insight about the ambitious ordeal he has decided to undertake, John seeks out the assistance of the legendary criminal Damon Pennington (Neeson), who has written about his exploits of escaping jail.
Crowe is given the opportunity to give a more empathetic, vulnerable performance, as John is only called into a life of criminality as a result of desperation. Although the film establishes that he is an educated, intelligent man that possess a variety of skills, John isn’t prepared for how devastating it will be to be without his wife; beyond the fact that he is abandoned by his friends and family in the aftermath, John finds it heartbreaking that the one person he is not able to confide in is unjustly forced to face consequences for a crime that she did not commit. There’s a component of sensitive masculinity that Crowe shows, as John realizes that the burden of being a single parent is a challenge that he is not equipped for, especially when dealing with his own grief. If the film allowed Crowe to give a more altered performance, it also provided Neeson with the opportunity to prove why he was a great character actor. Although Neeson has unfortunately spent many years starring in generic action films, his single scene in The Next Three Days showed that he could create an enigmatic, interesting character whose appearance allows the film to kick into another gear.
‘The Next Three Days’ Examines the Familial Consequences of Crime

The Next Three Days examines the moments that lead up to a crime, which involve an extensive amount of planning and consideration of the ethics involved. Given that John is not someone who has ever had a reason to question authority before, he is both unprepared and uncomfortable for a task that would involve taking advantage of flaws within established infrastructures. What’s even more interesting are the anxieties he faces about the man he will become; while he knows that it is necessary for him to step up in a crisis, John does not want to turn himself into a person that Lara would not still be in love with.
The Next Three Days does not sell the audience short when it comes to spectacle, as the slowly rising tension builds up to a terrific car chase in the third act that could feasibly be compared to those in The French Connection or The Matrix Reloaded. However, the more interesting question is what John and Lara will do next, as despite their reunion, they will never be able to return to their previous lives. Although The Next Three Days is clever enough to offer some ambiguity, it’s still a riveting spectacle that dives deeper than most heist thrillers.
The Next Three Days is available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.

The Next Three Days

Release Date

November 19, 2010

Runtime

133 Minutes

Director

Paul Haggis

Writers

Paul Haggis, Fred Cavayé, Guillaume Lemans