At Close Range

A film review by Christopher Null - Copyright © 2004 Filmcritic.com

Christopher Walken's hair and bushy mustache almost make the maudlin At Close Range worth watching, but not quite. Sean Penn plays Walken Jr. here in what ought to be a meeting of great Method actors but turns out to be a stillborn dud. Dad's a gangster, son wants to work for pa (and doesn't know he's a crook), and slowly gets pulled into his increasingly violent world. A real mess ensues (as occured in the real-life story on which the film is based), and in the end we all leave the film feeling so depressed we're ready to commit suicide.

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Rating

2.5 out of 5 Stars

Cast and Crew

  • Director: James Foley
  • Producer: Don Guest, Elliott Lewitt
  • Screenwriter: Nicholas Kazan
  • Stars: Sean Penn, Christopher Walken, Mary Stuart Masterson, Chris Penn, Millie Perkins
  • MPAA Rating: R