Dead Man Walking (film) Dead Man Walking (film) Dead Man Walking is a 1995 American crime drama film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, and co-produced and directed by Tim Robbins, who adapted the screenplay from the non-fiction book of the same name. Sister Helen Prejean (Sarandon) establishes a special relationship with Matthew Poncelet (Penn) – based on real-life murderers Elmo Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie – a prisoner on death row in Louisiana, acting as his spiritual adviser after carrying on correspondence with him. Matthew Poncelet has been in prison for six years, awaiting his execution after being sentenced to death for
Susan Isaacs books and screenplays, Isaacs has reviewed fiction and nonfiction for "The New York Times", the "Los Angeles Times", "The Washington Post", and "Newsday". She belongs to the National Book Critics Circle. Isaacs has written about politics, including a series of essays on the 2000 presidential campaign for "Newsday". She has also authored op-eds and articles on feminism, film, and First Amendment issues. In 1985, Isaacs adapted her own novel for the screenplay of the Paramount film "Compromising Positions", which starred Susan Sarandon and Raul Julia. She wrote and co-produced Touchstone Pictures’ "Hello Again", a 1987 comedy starring Shelley Long, Gabriel