L'affrontement

If someone says they have had the perfect life they are either lying or are a single child being raised by a single parent, and even then maybe they just have not lived long enough. There are three fine perfomances on display by a young Jan-Michael Vincent, Brenda Vaccaro and of course Robert Mitchum.

This is a story only a few families may be able relate to in relation to a murder of one parent by another parent, and in this case it is about Robert Mitchum while in a drunken stupor murdering his own wife as his young son around seven (7) years of age is left parentless after his father is imprisoned. Eventually Mitchu is released from prison and he has a new girlfriend (Vaccaro) to which they are trying to re-build their lives when unexpectedly Mitchum's now teenage son (Jan-Michael Vincent) suddenly appears at their door.

Neither father, son, nor Brenda Vaccaro who is Mitchum's live-in trailer girlfriend know how to adapt to being a family since Mitchum has spent the last decade or so in prison while his young son grew up in foster homes. It is not an easy watch as stuff happens in real life that is unpleasant to have to hear, let alone watch. But families can overcome great difficulties if they can learn to live with their pasts and become better people. This is the story of father Harry K. Graham (Robert Mitchum), estranged son Jimmy Graham (Jan-Michael Vincent) and Harry's live in girlfriend Jenny Benson (Brenda Vaccaro) who have to try and find a way to not only survive but to live as a family.

A 6/10 rating

When Jimmy Graham (Jan Michael Viencent) was six years old he witnessed the aftermath of his father, Harry Graham (Robert Mitchum), murdering his mother. He was forced to testify against his dad, and after his conviction he was passed around between foster homes and boys' schools. Thirteen years later, and Jimmy Graham is a kid with a mighty case of PTSD, a chip on his shoulder, and a case of smoldering anger against his dad.

When Jimmy makes one of his infrequent trips to the prison, he discovers that dad was paroled months ago and didn't bother to get in touch with him and tell him he is out. He looks dad up and sees dad is getting on with his life - living in a trailer park, working as a mechanic, he even has a steady girl. Not that Harry seems to know what to do with their relationship. He alternately acts friendly towards his son and then out of the blue rejects him. At least, though, we have some of that Mitchum laconic coolness on display where I get some idea of where he is coming from.

Jimmy, however, has as close to a resting b**ch face that a man can have, and wanders around mute and behaving largely in a passive aggressive fashion. Sometimes he acts like he wants to get close to dad, other times he is complaining to the parole board about the fact that Harry is even out, another time he scratches a BEWARE OF HARRY GRAHAM message on the men's room wall. Towards the end, however, Jimmy does a deed so foul that no amount of childhood trauma can excuse it. At that point I just wanted Mitchum to show up and go all Cape Fear on this unlikable person.

The editing is not great either. Jimmy seems to have no life at all when he decides to decamp and go meddle in dad's life. Yet at the end of the film he shows up at some house of ill repute where people see him and say "Quitters are not welcome!". Jimmy calls his dad and tells him where he is, and dad says emphatically "I told you never to go back to that house!" and feels so strongly about it he has to go drive over and get him. What is this house? Until these scenes it has not been shown and I have no idea what it is doing in this film.

The 3 stars are for Mitchum, who is a presence even in a bad film with a bad script and bad editing.

"Going Home" explores a potentially interesting premise: a child who witnessed his mother's murder at the hands of his father grows up and confronts his parolee father. Where this movie fails is in its execution, which becomes progressively more confused and convoluted often leaving the viewer unsure as to where a scene is actually taking place. Frustratingly, most of the lead characters, especially Jimmy, come across as erratic. Their behavior at times seems entirely unrealistic and whatever motivations they might have are never really explored.

About the only thing that saves this movie from a lower rating is Mitchum's characteristically strong performance considering the confused story and direction he has to contend with.

It was made in seventies, early seventies, and that explains the way it was directed, played and written. Two decades later, it would have been different. Anyway, that did not interfere with the pleasure I had to spend time watching it. Robert Mitchum gives the portrait of an ambivalent character, a bit disturbing, in the father character, and not the ordinary father, not the good family man whom you could expect in a normal family. He killed his wife and years later his grown up son goes to find his father and get some explanation, talk to him...That's precisely at this point that the story comes interesting, gripping. An underrated film, I guess.

Going Home is a pretty upsetting movie, so I caution only those who can handle it to rent it. I thought it was going to be one of those "ex-con makes good" stories, but it wasn't at all. Robert Mitchum does start the movie getting out of prison, and he does try for a fresh start in life, but there's a lot more to the story. His teenage son, Jan-Michael Vincent, has a whole mass of problems because of what Bob did. We never learn why, or even if he did it, but he went to prison for murdering his wife. As a little boy, Jan-Michael witnessed the tail end of the crime. Understandably, he doesn't want anything to do with his father upon his release.

Except, he does. He tracks his dad down to the trailer park where he's living and tries to get to know him as an adult. Full of angst and feelings he doesn't even understand, Jan-Michael is an absolute mess. Bob tries to be friendly, but he knows they can't have a normal relationship. Bob's girlfriend, Brenda Vaccaro, also tries to be friendly. She's closer to the son's age than the father's, and since she doesn't know or understand the whole story, she thinks a few family dinners will mend everything. Unfortunately, she learns the terrible lesson that no good deed goes unpunished. I really like her performance in this movie. I believed her at every moment, from blending into her trailer park surroundings, to trying to make a go of a relationship with a broken man because she knows they're on the same level, and finally, fear and disbelief when Jan-Michael shows his true colors.

This story is so interesting because obviously Bob is the villain in the story, but he doesn't really act like it. Jan-Michael is far meaner, inconsistent, and out for revenge. Bob is merely trying to get by the best he can after fifteen years in prison and forfeiting any relationship with his only child. In fact, I found Jan-Michael so horrible, every time I've seen him in another movie I shrink back behind my pillow and say, "Oh no, the rapist!" Bob does have a chill that washes over his entire performance, which is very effective. He has lived through so much, there just isn't room for regular, raw feelings anymore.

Part of the reason why this movie is so hard to watch is because of the flashbacks. Not only do we have to watch the murder over and over, but we see some very touching flashbacks of their relationship before Bob went to prison. It's sad to see him in a different stage in his life, contrasted with the way he is at the present timeline. If you can handle this extremely dark, adult movie, you'll see some very good acting and a realistic storyline.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to violence and an upsetting scene involving a child, I wouldn't let my kids watch it. Also, there may or may not be a rape scene.