Despite wonderful performances by Susan Sarandon (winning an Oscar) and Sean Penn (Oscar-nominated), it must be admitted that this story about the Death Row friendship between a nun and a convicted rapist-killer is something of an ordeal.

There's no let-up from the prison environment, which contributes much to the doomy atmosphere of a film that you could recommend wholeheartedly for its acting, but hardly at all in terms of an evening's entertainment.

Penn does finally find God, but you may find the arms of Morpheus rather sooner.