The Indian Runner

Absolutely one of my favorite films of all time. Not enough real movies like this. Tells an important tale of family, love and loss. Sean Penn is a national treasure as both an actor and filmmaker. David Morse and Viggo Mortensen give their best performances of their careers. Charles Bronson is such a surprise as the father.

A great melodrama in a small town during the seventies about two grown-up brothers; Joe (David Morse), is married and a deputy sheriff who seems to be highly devoted to his job. Frank (Viggo Mortensen), who is the younger one of the pair, comes back from Vietnam even though he has the habit of being a troublemaker.

Morse and Mortensen are nothing short of excellent in their performances and are backed up by a solid supporting cast (Valerina Gorlino, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Sandy Dennis, and Charles Bronson). Out of the bunch, Bronson is the one to watch here as the boys' quiet and solemn father and he treats it to perfection. In one scene, he tells Joe while they're sitting out on the porch that he was wrong about Joe marrying Maria (Gorlino), who is Mexican.

There another surprise that makes the film more compelling to watch is that it's the directing and writing debut of actor Sean Penn. The movie was inspired by the Bruce Springsteen song that's called "Highway Patrolman".

Anthony Richmond's cinematography is extroadinary and the musical score by the late Jack Nitzsche is very solid.

"The Indian Runner" presented a rare and very interesting question to me: "Why doesn't any movie director make a film that shows the two sides (bright and dark) of the director themself?"

In conclusion, this movie is intelligent and seriously moving. And it shows that Penn can write and direct beside act.

Deceived by the title, pondering over a bizarre story, the Indian Runner became like his message: hard to come by. The insinuated events left little true action except for the killing at the beginning. It might be interesting to watch it, though not at a late hour, since it provides too little fascination. Solely enchanting Particia Arquette saved the film from receiving an even lower rating. Good idea, but ...

What word better describes this picture than `strong'? Strong characters, strong actors, strong directorial choices. Brilliant writing and a performance that told anyone who saw it that it was only a matter of time before Viggo Mortensen became a somewhat unwieldy household name. Everybody shines, everybody is used more intelligently than they were very often. Valeria Golino didn't have a part this good until `Frida,' Charles Bronson is given room to stretch, Patricia Arquette gives her best performance ever by far (doesn't she look a bit like Robin Wright in this film?), and David Morse is always excellent, I see that he directs TV from his bio, hopefully he'll try a feature soon. Just like `Jesus' Son' another film set around the 60's/70's split, if this film had been made in the time in which it is set it would have been a classic. As it is it hasn't even been released on DVD yet, which is embarrassing. I wasn't the biggest fan of `The Pledge' and actually didn't know that A) Sean Penn had a film like this in him, though I suspected, or that B) he made that film more than 10 years ago.

One false step was using someone giving birth for that scene. We know it isn't Patricia Arquette, it is unnerving to watch someone give birth even if you know them but especially when you have some random person splayed out in front of the camera. Immediately I was taken out of it, wondering who would volunteer to have a baby for a film. Oh, and you never ever really believe it's 1963.

Certain shots are eerily reminiscent of the haunted and empty America we see in Philip Ridley's `The Reflecting Skin,' a Viggo Mortensen film from the year before.

Greatest thing about the film is that it doesn't try too hard. With symbolism, with drama, it lets the people do their work and what happens is consistently interesting. It has a great soundtrack and more importantly music is used well within the film. The film is even more poignant considering that it come from the famously volatile, occasionally traditional occasionally misanthropic but always mercurial Penn.

Few actors who move over to directing have done so with as much success (artistically) as Sean Penn. John Cassavetes, a major source of inspiration to Penn, did so in the past, and Penn is one of the very few to follow in his footsteps who could possibly end up rivalling him as a maker of complex and haunting character based dramas. 'The Indian Runner' was Penn's directorial debut, and it is an extremely impressive achievement. Inspired by Springsteen's song 'Highway Patrolman' (from his underrated 'Nebraska' album from the early 1980s), it is a slow, almost hypnotic look at two brothers with totally different world views and their attempts to come to terms with each other. The siblings are played by David Morse ('Twelve Monkeys') and Viggo Mortensen ('The Prophecy'), and both performances are superb, and career high points. Mortensen is now a major movie star due to his involvement in the 'Lord Of The Rings' trilogy, but for his best acting work look no further than here. The rest of the movie features a first rate supporting cast which includes Valeria Golina ('Rain Man') and Patricia Arquette ('True Romance') as the brother's respective love interests, and veterans Dennis Hopper ('Blue Velvet') and Charles Bronson ('Death Wish'), testament to the respect Penn has in the acting community, I'd say. Bronson, who plays the father, puts in an uncharacteristically subdued performance, one of his best ever. Also keep an eye out for Benicio Del Toro ('The Usual Suspects') in a small cameo, and Penn's mother Eileen Ryan ('At Close Range'). This movie may not be to everyone's taste, but I was knocked out by it. Easily one of the most overlooked dramas of the 1990s. Highly recommended.