At Close Range (1986)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

James Foley

Writers:

Elliott Lewitt (story) and
Nicholas Kazan (story) ...

Release Date:

18 April 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

Like father. Like son. Like hell.

Plot:

A boy and his friends seek to join a mid-atlantic gang led by the boy's estranged father, unaware that...

Plot Keywords:

1970s | Murder | Small Town | Gay Slur | Father Son Relationship

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Sean Penn	...	Brad Whitewood Jr.
Christopher Walken	...	Brad Whitewood Sr.
Mary Stuart Masterson	...	Terry
Chris Penn	...	Tommy Whitewood (as Christopher Penn)
Millie Perkins	...	Julie
Eileen Ryan	...	Grandma
Tracey Walter	...	Uncle Patch Whitewood
R.D. Call	...	Dickie
David Strathairn	...	Tony Pine
J.C. Quinn	...	Boyd
Candy Clark	...	Mary Sue
Jake Dengel	...	Lester
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Tim
Stephen Geoffreys	...	Aggie
Crispin Glover	...	Lucas

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #27933) | Australia:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Franklin, Tennessee, USA

Company:

Hemdale Film

Trivia:

Screenwriter Nicholas Kazan originally wrote in the script a scene in which after Brad Sr. and Brad Jr. "do laundry", Brad Sr. takes little Brad to a whorehouse. The scene was not filmed due to "reasons beyond his control".

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: After Brad Jr. fires off several rounds around his father, he shoves the end of the handgun's barrel right into his father's face. The heat from the rounds that were just fired seconds before should have been enough to burn his father's face, yet Brad Sr. doesn't flinch, and when Brad. Jr. pulls the gun back from his father's face, there is no evidence of a burn.

Quotes:

Brad Whitewood Sr.: How old are you anyway?
Brad Whitewood Jr.: Old enough.
Brad Whitewood Sr.: Damn!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Nick Kazan (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE

A sharp and very unforgiving tale of betrayl.

Tender yet painful story about a rural Pennsylvania teen, Brad Whitewood, Jr. (Sean Penn) who along with his half-brother, Tommy (real-life brother Chris Penn) finally meet their estranged father, Brad Sr. (Christopher Walken), decide to join their father's crime network only to discover how brutal that he can be to them while dodging the feds at any cost. (Sean) Penn and Walken are well-cast here and to watch the pair on-screen at the same time is a delight. Director James Foley guides the film where it should go and the script by Nicholas Kazan is made to near perfection in handling the mood and tension. It's also a surprise that the film itself is based on a true story that took placed in 1978. A sharp and very unforgiving tale of betrayl.