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
Dead Man Walking (film) received one for best screenplay. At the 46th Berlin International Film Festival, Penn won the Silver Bear for Best Actor. Robbins dedicated the movie to his paternal grandparents, Lee Robbins and Thelma Bledsoe, in gratitude for his college tuition. "Dead Man Walking" debuted on December 29, 1995, in the United States. With a budget of $11 million, the film grossed $39,387,284 domestically and $43,701,011 internationally, for a total of $83,088,295 worldwide. In 2002, Tim Robbins, who adapted the book for the film, also wrote a stage version of "Dead Man Walking". It has also been adapted as an opera by