USA,
1991, 126 min
Shown in 1999
CREDITS
- dir
-
Sean Penn
- prod
-
Sean Penn, Don Phillips
- scr
-
Sean Penn
- cam
-
Anthony B. Richmond
- editor
-
Jay Cassidy
- cast
-
Dave Morse, Viggo Mortenson, Valeria Golino, Patricia Arquette, Charles Bronson, Sandy Dennis, Dennis Hopper
- source
-
Swank Motion Pictures, 201 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103. FAX 314-289-2192
-
COMMENTS
Sean Penn was the 1999 recipient of the Peter J. Owens Award; he appeared in person.
OTHER
Sean Penn’s directorial debut displays the same intimacy with the extremes of human emotion that characterizes his most powerful acting roles. Set in post-Vietnam–era Nebraska and inspired by Bruce Springsteen’s “Highway Patrolman,” the film describes the troubled relationship between two brothers living on different sides of the law. Faded home movies show two little boys playing: One is more aggressive with a temper. Many years later, these same personalities exist in the grownup brothers. David Morse plays Joe, a law-abiding family man who finds his loyalties and morals tested when Frank, played by Viggo Mortensen, returns from Vietnam. Penn dedicated his film to Hal Ashby and John Cassavetes, whose slow-burn examinations of the rawest side of humanity continue to inform Penn’s work both as an actor and director. Charles Bronson gives a stellar performance as Joe and Frank’s disillusioned father and Patricia Arquette plays the one person who believes Frank’s sweet talk completely. There are no easy solutions for this story—it’s as intractable as life itself. The loose-fitting elegance of Penn’s directorial style belies the fact that every shot hides a knockout punch, not to the stomach, but to the heart.
—Jennie Yabroff
FACTOID #130
Spike Lee has attended the San Francisco International several times. He came, film reels in hand, for the world premiere of She’s Gotta Have It in 1986. He returned in 1994 with Crooklyn, which starred Oakland’s own Delroy Lindo. And in 2007 he received the Festival’s Film Society Directing Award.
