At Close Range (2000, DVD)

At Close Range is a complicated film that is pretty hard to put down in just one viewing. So I saw it twice. Do I enjoy this film? No, I don't think so. Is it fascinating? You bet. Not to mention incredibly well acted, directed, written, etc.

For years i've heard nothing but praise about this film. It's always been on my list of, "films I gotta see." Well I finally saw the film. At first I was disappointed. It wasn't at all what I was expecting. The film made me feel very uncomfortable, and the final effect, well let's just say it ruined my evening. But I couldn't get it out of my head, no matter how hard I tried. The performances, the music, character expressions, all of them haunting. Not to mention it's based on a true story which makes it all the more difficult to stomach.

It's 1978, Brad Whitewood, Jr (Sean Penn), who i'll call Little Brad, is your typical kid. Doesn't care much for school -- did he graduate, who knows? He likes to take drugs, work on his truck, flirt with girls, the usual. He's a good kid.

In the beginning of the film Little Brad spots Terry (Mary Stuart Masterson). They seem to be drawn to each other, both attractive young people, but both of them seem to be sharing something else.

Little Brad lives at home with his mother, step father, and brother Tommy (Chris Penn). One day he has a visitor, a man he's never meet before, his father. His dad is Brad Whitewood Senior (Christopher Walken), i'll call him Big Brad.

Under the circumstances that Little Brad's step dad is abusive, and the fact that he wants to get to know his father, he moves in with Big Brad. They bond, in their own way; Big Brad shows him the ropes, and it's not too long until Little Brad starts working for his daddy.

Big Brad is a thief, with his own crew and everything. He get's Little Brad to get his own crew together, and they steal tractors and things like that. Little Brad has also started a nice relationship with Terry, everything seems to be going fine, until...

Since the film is based on a true story, I have know qualms telling you what happens. But if you don't want to know anything before you've seen the film, stop reading the review. Major Spoilers.

Little Brad has been arrested and the cops are not letting him out of jail. Big Brad is sure it's because they want him to testify against him and his crew, plus Little Brad saw him murder a man. So Big Brad decides to take out his son's crew, killing all of them, including his two sons.

The entire film seems to be building up to the last 15 minutes or so of the film. I mean, watching people steal tractors and things of that nature can only be entertaining for so long. The film is very slow in parts, but it seems to be tightening up the relationship between the father and his son. Which makes the film all the more disturbing.

Based on a true story, it seems to me that the film makers made the film for the soul reason of making the audience uncomfortable. It's shocking, the fact that a father would murder his own sons, and not have a care in the world, and that seems to be the basic motive behind the film.

The film's plot is thin and sometimes I questioned certain characters motives, but since it's a true story, what are you going to do? What keeps the film afloat, are the performances and the shock factor.

Both Sean Penn and Christopher Walken are two of my favorite actors of all time. Each one gives a performance that is unforgettable in it's own way. Little Brad is a remarkable character, because no matter what right or wrongs he commits, it seems all he really wants to obtain in the film, is love. Love from his girlfriend, love from his Father. Walken is remarkable, because no matter how much his sons want love from him, he has none to spare.

Sean Penn gives an amazingly subtle and real performance. He just plays a kid, who wants to live a normal life, and have a normal family. It's not to the end, when he loses everything, and comes to terms with what has happened, does he finally unwind. The end result is electrifying.

Walken has the honor of doing what he does best -- playing a lovable homicidal manic. But then something happens, he ceases to be charming, and he does in fact, become a terrifying monster. I think it's the sheer bluntness of his performance, that makes the film so haunting.

The best part of the film is the last 15 minutes. It's within this time that At Close Range stops being just a drama, and it becomes something quite unsettling.

Sometimes a movie is just too real. It ceases to become escapist entertainment. Some films can take you anywhere, At Close Range took me somewhere that I didn't particularly want to go, but it was a monumental journey none the less.