Key Cast: Don Cheadle, Cicely Tyson, Mekhi Phifer, Irma P. Hall
Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Drama
Description
Based on a prize-winning novel by Ernest J. Gaines, "A Lesson Before Dying" is about the life-changing relationship that develops between a schoolteacher, Grant Wiggins (Don Cheadle), and the young man, Jefferson (Mekhi Phifer), who has been sentenced to death.
Not wanting him to die thinking he is an animal, his mother, Tante Lou (Cicely Tyson), and aunt, Miss Emma (Irma P. Hall), convince a trusted schoolteacher to visit him in prison to help restore his dignity and self-respect.
What happens between these two men not only changes the young man’s life but also changes the teacher’s life as well.
Trivia
∙ "A Lesson Before Dying" is based on the book of the same name by African-American writer Ernest J. Gaines. The book A Lesson Before Dying was a 1997 Oprah Winfrey Book Club Selection.
∙ Ernest J. Gaines also wrote the book, "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman", which was also turned into a movie. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman movie is a Top 100 BlackClassicMovies.com film.
Awards
∙ "A Lesson Before Dying" received an 1999 Emmy for Outstanding Made for Television Movie.
DVD Availability
Buy A Lesson Before Dying Movie DVD
"A Lesson Before Dying" stars Don Cheadle,
Mekhi Phifer, Cicely Tyson and Irma P. Hall
this moving, Emmy Award winning drama.
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"A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest J. Gaines
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines (Book)
African-American writer, Ernest J. Gaines, wrote "A Lesson
Before Dying" in 1993. This novel tells the story of a young
man who is falsely accused of a murder that he did not
commit.
Racism, dignity and Black manhood are the key topics that
Ernest Gaines explores in this highly-acclaimed novel.
"A Lesson Before Dying" was an Oprah Winfrey Book Club
Selection, too.
