The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
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Critics Consensus: Led by a gripping performance from Christopher Eccleston, Let Him Have It sounds a compelling call for justice on behalf of its real-life protagonist.
Critic Consensus: Led by a gripping performance from Christopher Eccleston, Let Him Have It sounds a compelling call for justice on behalf of its real-life protagonist.
All Critics (37) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (31) | Rotten (6) | DVD (1)
Courtenay slowly works his way into the center of the movie's sympathies. When he embraces his remaining family at the moment of his son's execution, his sorrow seems boundless.
As the protagonist/victim, Eccleston gives a superb, riveting performance in his feature-film debut, as does Reynolds, another newcomer who deftly handles the role of the gun-crazy and trigger-happy Chris.
Let Him Have It is unabashedly weighted toward the perspective of the murderer as victim -- a notion that does not enjoy much public currency in our more violent times. But if ever there was a victim of the judicial system, it was Derek Bentley.
The script, by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, finds enough quirks in its protagonists to lift them above the issues-movie premise. Michael Kamen's atmospheric chamber score is also crucial to the film's success.
A chiaroscuro drama of unstoppable tragedy.
Fairness isn't the issue here, dramatic depth is: You don't have to favor capital punishment to feel yourself being manipulated.
This is deeply moving, and I nearly wept.
The last 30 minutes of the story are overwhelmingly strong, blending human drama and social history into a series of extremely moving scenes, leading to a brief coda that's as unexpected and audacious as anything seen on a movie screen in years.
It's the kind of resonant, controlled and moving film that is all but unmakeable in America today. More's the shame.
Let Him Have It is strongest in the human interest department and weakest as a thriller.
It does not follow that behind every great miscarriage of justice lies a great movie. Case in point: the well-intentioned but ultimately unsatisfying Let Him Have It.
This recreation seethes with quiet outrage, building, albeit slowly, to a climax that should put anyone who favours state retribution over rehabilitation to shame.
Quite a strong movie, based on a true story, highlighting miscarriage of justice.
Super Reviewer
Well made, dramatic case study of the crime, trial and subsequent execution of Derek Bentley. Director Peter Medak and a very talented cast have put together a powerful argument against capital punishment and a scathing indictment of Britain's jurisprudence.
Intelligent drama in which a mentally challenged petty criminal is railroaded onto the gallows, causing the establishment to re-evaluate it's use of the death penalty. Well acted and thought provoking.
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