THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 27, 1995 TAG: 9501270068
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER BENTON, TEENOLOGY MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
IN THE late 1930s and early 1940s, Alcatraz was a blessing to the American people. Housing such notorious criminals as Al Capone and ``Babyface'' Nelson, it was on an island several miles off the coast of San Francisco and was distinguished as being inescapable.
In 1938, four men attempted to challenge this record. Two of the men died trying. Of the two who were apprehended, one became a victim of the penal system and possibly changed history forever.
Henri Young, played in the film ``Murder in the First'' by the Kevin Bacon, was that man. Young - who committed a federal offense by stealing $5 from a store that contained a post office to feed his starving sister - was sent to Alcatraz when there weren't enough inmates to fill its cells. Young's escape partner tipped off the warden, earning him less punishment for the offense. Young was not so lucky.
In a disturbing sequence of film, Young is thrown down a flight of steel stairs, beaten repeatedly, cut with a razor and finally stripped naked and left in a dark hole in the bowels of Alcatraz for more than three years. The legal limit on solitary confinement was 19 consecutive days.
When Young is allowed to return to normal confinement, he is mentally agitated and, in a fit of hysteria, kills the inmate who turned him in.
Christian Slater plays the young Harvard law grad who defends him. The 1941 case seemed fairly open-and-shut, yet the lawyer decides to take ``The Rock'' and its wardens head-on, committing political suicide because the prison was a symbol of safety for the population.
Slater and Bacon are talented actors, particularly Bacon, who is stunning as the victimized criminal. He will likely get an Oscar nomination.
Gary Oldman plays the sadistic assistant warden and displays a different type of evil than his role in ``Dracula.'' Oldman is a good actor but needs to get away from being type-cast as the ``bad guy.''
What distracts from this great film is the overdramatic camera angles. They enhance the picture to a certain point, then become tiresome. The spinning of the camera has a dizzying effect and looks as if a tourist with a video camera filmed the movie.
Though facts of the actual Young case were altered for the film (Young actually robbed a bank, not a grocery store and Slater's character was a composite of several lawyers), ``Murder in the First'' is the disturbing and compelling story. It is an unforgettable Oscar-quality film. MEMO: ``Murder in the First'' is rated R, those under 17 must be accompanied
by a parent or guardian. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Jennifer Benton is a Lakeland High senior.
by CNB