Written and Directed by Sean Penn. Starring Jack Nicholson, David Morse, Priscila Barnes, Piper Laurie, Anjelica Huston, Robin Wright Penn, Richard Bradford. Drama
SYNOPSIS: A man struggles with his deep hatred and desire for revenge on the drunk driver who killed his young daughter and has just been released from prison.
I've often said that all you really need for a good movie-even in this day of CGI and almost no limit what can be presented on screen-is a good story that is well acted and well directed. The Crossing Guard is just one more bit of evidence of this. (Of course, I'm not the first guy to say this, probably not even the millionth, but I'm claiming it)
Almost unbelievably, I had not ever seen or even heard much about this (relatively) low budget indie film chock full of A list actors, if not celebrity. The big draw here, of course is the one guy who is A list in every category, Jack Nicholson (A Few Good Men, Hoffa), who plays Freddy Gale, a middle aged jewelry store owner who has barely kept it together after the death of his young daughter at the hands of a drunk driver seven years before. As if the pain of losing his only child weren't enough of a cross to bear, his marriage to the child's mother (Anjelica Huston, Gardens of Stone, Iron Jawed Angels) has long since lay in ruins, to the point where his ex-wife is now (relatively) happily remarried.
Throw onto this fire a little gas in the form of the release drunken louse who took his child's life, and Gale is ready to go completely over the edge...not to mention that he wants to kill the man and isn't shy about sharing his feelings with his ex-wife.
And, as for the antagonist in this story, let me give you (I'm not making this up, the only thing I did not like about the story), newly freed state inmate John Booth (David Morse, Disturbia, The Negotiator). Not to nitpick such a great movie, but the choice of name was just a little too "out there" for me, I mean why not go all the way and give him the middle name of "Wilkes"? In fairness, the movie was based on a novel-which I have not read-so I'm sure the character names come from there.
Anyway, lest you think from my early intro that this flick is a revenge/action type of story, let me tell you that, to me, its simply a story about people in a difficult set of circumstances doing the best they can with either: 1) the hand they've been dealt by fate or 2) the bed they've made for themselves.
You feel some sort of empathy, if not outright sympathy, for all of the characters at some point. Yes, even the ne'er do well Booth, who we soon realize is not so much a bad man, but a man who did a bad thing and, well...you'll probably kind of like him. Not in the "I'd like to have a beer with him" sort of way, but in appreciation of a man who has done wrong, and knows he's done wrong, and really isn't expecting or looking for any sympathy.
He's even somewhat surprised at the love still shown him by his parents (Piper Laurie, Carrie; Richard Bradford, The Untouchables) The story kind of unfolds with the parallel lives of both Booth and Freddy as they progress after Booth's release from prison and Freddy's simmering rage. The two men are on a collision course and we know it. What makes the story so interesting and compelling is the depth that both the two main characters have as well as the supporting cast, with a bunch of heavyweight performances.
We all know how good Nicholson is and he doesn't disappoint here (has he ever?) With every word and in each scene, we feel Freddy's unrelenting pain, his anger, his disappointment, his sense of utter hopelessness. But, we also wish, in some cases, he would just act a little bit better. O.k., much better. This is no more evident than in the scenes with his ex-wife. Hutson and Nicholson have such good chemistry in these electric "love-hate" scenes that you are going to jumping back to these scenes a couple of times. Wow.
Now, I'm raving about Nicholson and Huston, and me telling true movie fans that they do great jobs in their roles is about as surprising as my report to you that it gets cold in Chicago in January. Throw in some excellent supporting performances from Robin Wright Penn and Priscilla Barnes (The Devil's Rejects) and you've got more good acting in this flick than you'll see in an entire summer of blockbusters.
But, you know what? For me the standout here is David Morse. Booth is the key to the story because if you don't identify or feel for him, at least a little, this story loses some of its power. Not to mention, he has to go toe to toe in some critical scenes with maybe the greatest living actor and not get blown off the screen. And he does it. He
more than does it, trust me. If you've seen some of Morse's work (and how can you not have if you're a movie buff? The Green Mile, John Adams, The Rock, 16 Blocks, the list goes on) then you know what a solid character/supporting actor he is. Make no mistake, he can carry a film and he nearly does here. Never seen him better.
As for how this ends, you know full well I'm not a spoiler and its difficult to talk too much in detail without giving it away, but I will say it's a powerful film that provokes a lot of thought. The ending is also powerful, not so much a shocker as it takes you somewhere you probably didn't think you were going to go, and-like real life-its kind of ambiguous and everything is not wrapped up in a nice neat bow for you.
Sean Penn might be, like Clint Eastwood, the kind of director that is as good a director as an actor, which is really saying something. Those of you who check this out on DVD will hear the actors rave about how he makes it easy for them, i.e., brings out their best performances. Sounds pretty much like the main job of the director to me.
This is an excellent film.
Sorry for the wordiness, but that is really all I've been trying to say.
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