About this movie

        Murder in the First was a film directed by Marc Rocco in 1995, starring Kevin Bacon, Christian Slater and Gary Oldman. The time is the 1930s and the 1940s, and the setting is the infamous prison Alcatraz and a law court. The plot is based on a true story. This movie's hero is Henri Young (Kevin Bacon) who is tried under accusation of murder in the first degree. He loses his parents when he is 10 years old, so he is left only with a little sister. One day when he is 17, he steals five dollars from some store after he fails to get a job. Unfortunately, he is sent to the notorious prison Alcatraz, and he is put in with brutal criminals. He fails to escape from prison because of his conspirator's betrayal, so he is put in underground solitary confinement, where he is stripped of all clothes and suffers from inhumane assault from the vice warden of the prison, Glenn (Gary Oldman). He can't come out of the place for three years. As soon as he comes out of solitary confinement and sees the person who betrayed him, he murders him with just a spoon. At the time, he is in a psychological coma, and he seems to be angry as a lion.
        Public defender, James Stamphill (Christian Slater) has charge of this case as his first case. Society is not generous to Henri Young, and they just think of the trial as a procedure. But Stamphill strives to save Henri's life. He comes to know about Henri's assault in prison and about his being kept in solitary confinement for over three years, when the legal limit is only 19 days). So he accuses Alcatraz, Glenn, and Humson, the head of Alcatraz, of Henri's torture. Humson is a leading figure of society. He manages three prisons and is the right hand of an anonymous. So Stamphill is threatened to give up this case from superiors and assaulted by a stranger, but he continues to struggle alone and finally wins the lawsuit. In the end, Henri dies because of Glenn's torture. However, he writes "victory" below his body before he dies.

Analysis

        The reason that I like this movie is its story. It awakens the audience's conscience and consciousness of society full of irrationality, and makes us feel compassion for those who live a poor life. In one scene, Young asks to Stamphill, "Have you ever stolen five dollars?"
        "Yes, once. When I was a kid, I took it from my brother's wallet," Stamphill answers.
        "What happened?"
        "He said not to do it again."
        "Why did I have to stay in solitary confinement for three years while you were all right, I really want to ask."
        I shared his grief deeply, and I felt as if it were my own situation. If his parents hadn't died, or society had taken care of him and his sister, or if the store owner had forgiven him, he wouldn't have had to live such an unhappy life. However, the store owner didn't forgive him, and Alcatraz confined criminals who committed minor offences like Young to justify its working funds. They also even increased the five dollars that Young stole to a fictional amount of five hundred dollars. I was angry because of their heartlessness and irrationality.

Comparison with other films

        To see Les Miserables, at first, Jean Valjean was a good person, but he changes into a dreadful one after he steals a loaf of bread for his hungry nephew and enters a prison not to be forgiven. One winter night after he is released from the prison, he wanders around to find a place to sleep. No one helps him, but an old priest welcomes him and treats him to supper. However, Jean steals the priest's candlestick and runs away. Next morning, police bring Jean to the priest and ask him, "This person insists this candlestick is his, but we think it's yours. Is it?" The priest says that he gave it to him as a present. So he regrets his fault deeply. Thanks to the priest's love and forgiveness, he changes into a good person. So I felt how important love and forgiveness are.
        To compare this film with the Shawshank Redemption, this film's special feature is that it is about the prison system. In this film, the hero, Andy (Tim Robbins), is bothered by abnormal inmates. Though they want to satisfy their sexual desires through Andy, they fail. In Murder in the First, Young is assaulted by the warden, the warden pushes him from the stairs, they mark his foot with a knife, and strike him with their fist. Someone wrote on a movie review Internet site about Murder in the First, "I firmly believe that there is no crime that justifies punishment that could potentially penalise a single person not deserving of that punishment."
        In cases when criminals are sentenced with the death penalty, they are afraid to die. However, Young is more afraid to go back to Alcatraz rather than to die in the gas chamber. So, at first, he wants to die, but finally he doesn't give up his struggle and defends himself: "I was a weapon of murder, but I am not a murderer." It required a great deal of courage because he knew if he went back to Alcatraz, he would be tortured more intensely. Young is a weak person who is always led by fate. In the end, his courage causes Alcatraz to close, though. It blocks other people from being assaulted. He writes "victory" before he dies. Writing "victory" could symbolize that he has overcome fear or won in a trial. He shows us what is real victory.

Recommendation

        I want to recommend this film to you. Actors show great acting. Kevin seems to be real prisoner. You can think about how your life is happy through Henri. I believe you also will be touched like me, and I hope you will be courageous people against our society's irrationality. Or when we are needed, I hope we will have compassion for poor people. When our superiors give or take a bribe, or when adults hire minor girls, when a pickpocket steals a weak person's money, I wish we would not just close our eyes.