Return to Sender (2004)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Return to Sender / Deal with Death |
| Original title | Return to Sender / Convicted |
| Country of production | USA , Denmark , GB |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2004 |
| length | 104 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Bille August |
| script | Neal Purvis , Robert Wade |
| production | Michael Lunderskov |
| music | Harry Gregson-Williams |
| camera | Dirk Brüel |
| cut | John Scott |
| occupation | |
| |
Return to Sender (alternatively: Business with Death ) is an American-Danish-British thriller directed by Bille August from 2004 .
action
Former criminal defense attorney Frank Nitzche writes sensitive letters to people sentenced to death under a false name and invented biography, thus gaining their trust. After the execution of his pen pals, he sold the resulting correspondence to the media through an agent.
In this way he is also in contact with Charlotte Cory, who is said to have kidnapped and killed a two-year-old girl seven years earlier, which is why she was sentenced to death. Since this case appears to be particularly profitable, he visits Charlotte a week before the date of execution in order to increase the chance of receiving the particularly valuable suicide note from the convicts.
Charlotte tells Frank that she has a sister named Stella who lost sight in a car accident caused by Charlotte. She asks him to track down Stella, with whom she has not had any contact since the accident, and to give her a letter. Stella lives under a new name with her partner Martin North, who is also blind, in a home for the disabled. Frank drives to Stella, who refuses to accept Charlotte's letter.
He then meets Susan Kennan, Charlotte's attorney, who tells him about her suspicion that Charlotte must have had an accomplice whom she covers with persistent silence. The next day, Frank visits Charlotte again in prison and she makes it clear to him that she feels something for him. Frank has now also developed feelings for Charlotte. Meanwhile, Frank's doubts about Charlotte's sole guilt have grown and he presses her to tell the truth about the crime. Charlotte does not want to comment on this. However, he came across a newspaper photo in which a policeman presented a woman's stocking that was used to replace the broken fan belt on Charlotte's car, which was known to have been used in the kidnapping. Frank recalls that he saw the same type of stocking on Stella when he visited her at the home. For him, this discovery is a strong indication that Stella was involved in the kidnapping and that the person Charlotte is trying to cover is her sister.
Susan has by now found out everything about Frank's profitable trade in letters from death row inmates and angrily announces that she will tell Charlotte everything that she doesn't have the heart to do. As a result, Frank tries to regain Susan's trust. He decides to go to Stella again and talk to her. When he arrives at the home where Stella lives, he learns that Stella has recently committed suicide.
Charlotte now confesses that she has nothing to do with the crime and that in truth her sister Stella was involved in the crime, which she found out after a phone call from Stellas on the day the ransom was handed over. Stella also told her that in the crime, Charlotte's car had been used unnoticed by her. After the call, she went to see Stella, but was arrested by the police on the way there. Charlotte had then remained silent in court to protect her sister.
Frank is now doing everything possible to prove Charlotte's innocence. He watches a full-length video of the insurance company Stella filed her claims with about the accident. The video shows Stella with her partner Martin North, who was not yet completely blind at the time. He is now convinced of the guilt of the two for the crime and decides to visit Martin in the home with the policeman Charbonic. There he sees Martin with a girl about nine years old who calls him "Dad". Frank realizes that this girl is the Hammond's daughter who was kidnapped seven years ago and that she was not murdered, but was raised by Stella and Martin as their own daughter. He confronts Martin. However, he leaves the room with the girl and gets a rifle. Then there is a chase through the whole home, in which Martin is finally shot by Charbonic. Since there are only a few hours left before Charlotte's execution, Frank drives the girl straight to the Hammonds. These eventually recognize their child and can cause the imminent execution to be suspended.
The film ends with Charlotte being released from prison as innocent. Susan had previously told her the truth about Frank's machinations, but also did not hide the fact that Frank was the one who proved Charlotte's innocence.
Reviews
The Lexicon of International Films wrote that the film was a " superficial crime film " disguised as an " indictment of the death penalty ". The fact that Bille August is the director of the film is " as astonishing as it is terrifying ".
Awards
Aidan Quinn was nominated for the Irish IFTA Award in 2005.
background
The film was in Denmark and in Tulsa ( Oklahoma turned), its production amounted to an estimated 7.6 million US dollars . It had its world premiere on September 17, 2004 at the Toronto Film Festival .
Web links
- Return to Sender in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Return to Sender at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- prisma.de: Business with death
Individual evidence
- ↑ Return to Sender. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Return to Sender (2004). Retrieved August 5, 2017 .
- ↑ Return to Sender (2004 / I) - Box office / business. Retrieved August 5, 2017 .
- ↑ Return to Sender (2004). Retrieved August 5, 2017 .