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Sometimes I get worried when I am writing about a favorite movie of mine, as I have a habit of trying to convince the reader that it is as good as I think it is. I worry that I will hype the film so much, that if anyone reads what I wrote about it, they will be sorely disappointed once they sit down to watch the film as it had no chance in hell of ever living up to the viewing pleasure I had promised. This is especially true for films that I may have watched as a kid, when things like nostalgia can give my figurative glasses a rosy tint. So I will try to contain my fanboism over the film I want to discuss: James Foley’s 1986 film, ‘At Close Range’.

Like ‘Heavenly Creatures’, another film based on actual events that we featured recently, ‘At Close Range’ stayed pretty damn faithful to the actual events the movie is based off of — in this case a gang of thieves ran by Bruce Johnston Sr. and his two brothers that operated in Chester County, Pennsylvania in the ’60s and ’70s. He later welcomes his sons and their friends into the fold, leading to disastrous results.  In the film, some creative licenses were taken and names changed, but for the most part the main details of the case are all there.

Sean Penn plays Brad Whitewood Jr. A drug using loser aimlessly drifting through life with no goals or real purpose. He lives with his brother TommyTommy reviews (played by real life brother Chris Penn), his mother (Millie Perkins) and grandmother (the Penn’s real mother Eileen Ryan) in a small rundown house whose front yard is littered with a myriad of junk cars that Brad Jr. and Tommy work on periodically. After getting into a fight with his mother’s boyfriend, Brad visits his estranged father Brad Whitewood Sr. (Christopher Walken) who has just recently popped back into his life. The impressionable Brad Jr. is easily impressed by his father’s outlaw attitude, fast cars and most of all, the 100 dollar bills that he readily peels of and throws on tables. Brad Jr. quickly learns that the rumors about his father being a bad guy are true and that along with his two Uncles, he runs a gang of thieves operating all over the area. Having recently acquired a new girlfriend (Mary Stuart Masterson) as well as a broke-down truck, Brad Jr. decides that joining the family business will solve his monetary problems and put a bit of excitement back into his life.

Brad Sr. tells him that it isn’t that simple and that he has to prove himself before he would even entertain the idea of letting him join up with him and his gang of veterans. So Brad Jr. gathers up his younger brother and their friends and they begin successfully pulling off some local tractor thefts. Impressed by this, Brad Sr. eventually lets his son in the gang and allows him to go out on a couple of their jobs. But on one of these nights Brad witnesses just how serious this business is, and just how sinister his father can get, souring him from wanting to continue. He decides that he will pull off one major job with his friends, without his father’s help, and use the proceeds to run away with his girlfriend to build a better life. But the job gets botched, the boys get arrested and eventually everyone but Brad Jr. gets out on bail. Brad Sr., becoming increasingly paranoid and irrational, fears that it is just a matter of time before the kids start to roll over on him, and begins ensuring none of the boys will speak to anyone about anything ever again.

There isn’t much I don’t love about this film, as is evident by how long I will sit here and type about it. The cast alone is worth renting this movie for. You have Christopher Walken turning in one of the best roles of his career (even if it did help in creating the caricature we now know him as.) The role was first offered to Robert DeNiro who turned it down stating that the character was too dark. DeNiro would not have been a bad choice, and I can even see him in the role in my head, but Walken nailed it. He was able to make Bruce Sr. charismatic while still putting off a sinister undercurrent. His portrayal of Brad Sr. is like petting a large dog that growls while still wagging it’s tail. He is unpredictable, and with Walken’s now famous mannerisms, plays a character that would tell you a joke and while the both of you are laughing, blow your brains out. This character is one of my favorite movie villains – you just cannot go wrong with Walken playing a  cold-blooded, white trash sociopath.

Sean Penn, newly married to Madonna, plays Brad Jr. with a believable redneck stubbornness and cocky swagger. It is a standout performance, especially in the final moments of the film, and gives a glimpse of the talent we would see from him in his later works. Everything comes  off as genuine – from his first meeting with farmgirl Terry in the town square to his relationships with his friends and family. Brad Jr. is not necessarily a likable guy, but because of his surroundings and circumstances, it is easy to be sympathetic to his plight. He is not the brightest kid, and with his new found goals of a better life with the girl he loves, you can almost forgive him for the selfish ways he goes about achieving them. While a couple of the scenes between him and his girlfriend are important and successfully portray a boy and girl smitten, the central story is the relationship between him and his father and its varying dynamics. Showing Brad’s initial idolization of his father to later loathing  him.

Finishing up the cast is an ensemble of  fan-favorites and future stars.  Tracey Walter fans will be happy to know that he has a major role in the film, playing yet another henchman, Uncle Patch Whitewood. Crispin Glover plays LucasLucas reviews, Brad’s best friend. He is a secondary character but has enough memorable scenes to satisfy any Crispin Glover fan. It is also the first Crispin Glover role that showcased the off-kilter characters he would play throughout the rest of his career. You will also easily recognize another one of the friends as none other than Kiefer Sutherland. Sporting dark hair, this is one of his first big-screen roles, 2 years before he would make his mark in ‘Stand By Me’. Lastly, right after his role as EvilEvil reviews in ‘Fright Night’, and a number of years before his stint in gay porn, Stephen Geoffreys plays Aggie. Stephen plays Aggie almost identical to Evil had Evil been a redneck.

Then there is the title track. Live To Tell was written by Patrick Leonard for the soundtrack of the film ‘Fire With Fire’, but Paramount decided not to use it. Leonard then asked Madonna to check it out, and it ended up being used exclusively in this film as not only the title song, but also as the score. Different variations of it are used throughout the film and it sets the moods effectively, beginning with the opening title sequence as Brad Jr drives his truck at night while the instrumental plays in the background creating the dark, foreboding vibe that permeates the rest of the movie. With only a few editing issues that make a couple scenes a little confusing, I really don’t have a bad thing to say about the film. While at its core it is a dark, family drama with some extremely dysfunctional people involved in dysfunctional relationships, it also features a fairly accurate portrayal of the blue collar criminal.  It is not what you would call a happy film, but it is not a depressing one as it does have a powerful climax with a bittersweet ending. So do me a favor and check this one out if you never got around to it. As always, let me know what you think.

Rating:

I attempted to keep my fondness for this film at bay, but fuck it, here are a few links that may interest you, staring with the title song. If WMG would quit pulling the copyright shit on YoutubeYouTube, I would have posted the actual music video here. But instead, click here to be watch the video over at MTV. I also found someone who recreated all the instrumental portions of the song. You can find that by clicking here.

Lastly, here are a couple links about the actual crime:

It Was Pennsylvania Gothic
Bruce Johnson Sr. Wikipedia entry (pretty good details with a lot of reference links)