At Close Range (1986)

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:

When Christopher Walken works with guns in film, he checks them himself before each scene for safety reasons and his own personal ease. During the scene when 'Sean Penn' sticks a gun in Walken's face, Walken checked the gun before the scene started. Before the director had the chance to say "Action", Penn ran off camera and shouted, "Give me the other gun!" He immediately returned to Walken and started the scene. This is the cut that made it into the movie, and Walken was really terrified.

Goofs:

Continuity: The shotgun pellet wounds on Sean Penn's face disappear almost immediately and leave no scars.

Quotes:

Brad Whitewood Sr.: I just bought this car. She's a chariot! Give me $4500 for it ?

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE

Overlooked gem

I saw this movie when it first came out, and it's remained one of the most memorable films I have seen since. Sean Penn & Christopher Walken especially produce very powerful, realistic performances. Walken's evil father is a spot-on echo of a relative of mine - right down to the mustache & body language. <shudder> Sometimes, though, Walken's low-class accent is so thick I couldn't make out just what he's saying.

The dialogue is just subtle enough to feel realistic. Although the movie moves along at a slow, deliberate pace, the plot still feels nice & tight. And the cinematography is stylish. An instrumental version of the song Live to Tell, that Madonna turned into a hit, is actually used as the main theme running under almost every scene. It's not often that a pop song associated with a film is actually used in the film itself - usually it's just tacked on at the closing credits. But it was used to great atmospheric effect here.