Life

Directed by Ted Demme, Life follows Eddie Murphy’s Ray Gibson and Martin Lawrence’s Claude Banks as they’re wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment within a hard-labor prison camp. Filmmaker Demme, armed with Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone’s screenplay, delivers a somewhat erratic yet mostly satisfying drama that receives plenty of mileage out of the charming, engaging efforts of its two stars, as both Murphy and Lawrence turn in top-tier work that goes a long way towards smoothing over the narrative’s various bumps and lulls – with the actors receiving more-than-able support from a roster of such first-class periphery players as Bernie Mac, Bokeem Woodbine, and Nick Cassavetes. (The latter is especially effective as a prison guard who may not be quite as evil as he initially seems.) And although the episodic bent of the picture’s first half and midsection results in a decidedly hit-and-miss atmosphere, Life improves substantially as it progresses into a poignant third act that ultimately ensures it possesses far more emotional resonance than one might’ve anticipated – which does, in the end, cement the picture’s place as a better-than-average prison movie that boasts (and benefits from) its affecting lead performances.

*** out of ****