At Close Range Reviews

James Foley is not a really famous director but he has made a few notable flicks such as 'Glengarry Glen Ross'. He has also made this forgotten gem which is easily one of his best efforts. However, even though the directing was indeed rather decent, the main attraction was to see Sean Penn and Christopher Walken portraying son and father. As expected, they were quite amazing, eclipsing the rest of the cast which was actually rather decent (Mary Stuart Masterson, Chris Penn, David Strathairn, Kiefer Sutherland, Crispin Glover). Apparently, Robert De Niro turned down the father part because he thought it was too dark but I'm glad Walken took over since he gave here one of his best performances. Even though Christopher Walken shows up sometimes it some rather dubious productions (apparently, he loves so much his work that he never says no to a part), I think he is a terrific actor and if you have any doubt, you should check this movie. Against him, you have a rather young Sean Penn and he was just as impressive. Even though you could argue that the plot is not really original, you can't deny how intense the confrontation was between those two actors. To conclude, even though it is pretty much forgotten, it is actually a pretty strong drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.