A Lesson Before Dying (1999, TV Movie)

"A Lesson Before Dying" (1999) is a powerful drama originally aired on HBO. It's directed by Joseph Sargent and written by Ann Peacock, who adapted the story from Ernest J. Gaines' 1993 novel under the same title. The film stars an outstanding cast featuring Don Cheadle, Cicely Tyson, Mekhi Phifer, Irma P. Hall, Brent Jennings, Lisa Arrindell, and Dana Ivey. Phifer plays Jefferson, a black man accused of murdering a white man, which ends with his conviction and sentencing to death. Cheadle plays a college-educated black who returns to his small southern town to teach but faces internal conflicts about his dreams, goals, and ambitions of where he is in life. With encouragement, Cheadle visits Jefferson to help turn him into a man after the courts and justice system deem him nothing more than an animal before sentencing him to death.

This compelling film has so much depth and honesty to it. All the actors performed at high levels and brought the characters to life. Ironically, the film has many lessons beyond what Cheadle tries to convey. As a school teacher, he also deals with young children facing hardships. This movie is a must for fans who appreciate distinguished acting, powerful storytelling, and messages that can translate to everyone. I highly recommend it for viewing.

Director: Joseph Sargent
Writers: Ernest J. Gaines, Ann Peacock

Starring Don Cheadle, Cicely Tyson, Mekhi Phifer, Irma P. Hall, Brent Jennings, Lisa Arrindell, Dana Ivey, Frank Hoyt Taylor, Stuart Culpepper, Patty Mack, Von Coulter, Elijah Kelley, Wynton Yates, Jameelah Nuriddin, Cierra Meche

Storyline
Grant Wiggins (Don Cheadle) has become resigned to racial injustice in the South. Returning to his hometown with a college degree, he continues to teach in the same one-room school of his youth. Struggling to make a difference in an oppressive time and place, Grant is called upon by two local women, Tante Lou, and Miss Emma, to visit the town prison. There, Jefferson, a simple young man, has been convicted of a murder he did not commit and sentenced to die like an animal. Jefferson is full of rage and resentment, and the women are convinced that somehow he must be taught to die not like an animal but like a man. It falls upon the teacher to enrich a life he cannot save and, in so doing, somehow redeem his own by teaching one young man "A Lesson Before Dying."