|
Running on EmptyRating:
Release Date: 03 February, 2004 Retail Price: $9.98 OUR Price: $9.98 You SAVE: $0.00! Cast: Complete Cast (7 total) |
Running on Empty Reviews
ONE OF THE ALL TIME BEST
IN MY PERSONAL TOP 5 OF ALL TIME!!!!!! PERFECT PERFORMANCES BY ALL. PERFECT CASTING. PERFECT SCRIPT. VERY, VERY TOUCHING, AND A BITTER SWEET ENDING THAT REALLY FLOORS ME EVERY TIME I WATCH IT. THIS MOVIE IS A RARE GEM.
Notes from the Underground....
This movie about 70's radicals living life underground and on-the-run with their two sons in tow, after their bombing of a napalm factory resulted in the paralysis and blinding of a janitor who wasn't supposed to be there, is actually a unique and beautifully told family drama, with a superbly chosen cast and some very fine writing to commend it.
River Phoenix plays the oldest son Danny, who is a gifted pianist and is old enough to begin resisting the fugitive life that has been thrust on him, Jonas Abry as his little brother, Christine Lahti as his beautiful mother and Judd Hirsch as his still true-believer father. The details of how they live their lives underground, ready to run at any instant, working the gray areas of the economy for cash as fry cook or receptionist or whatever is convincing. Yet they have a warm and rich family life.
Although the events and situations that bring enormous stress into this family, fracturing what has been a functioning, albeit odd, modus operandi revolve around the rise of the undeniable talent of Danny and his desire to pursue his own dreams, it is also a result of the numbing strain of 17 years on the run that is felt especially by Lahti's Annie. A once Julliard-caliber musician, like her son, she threw her life away with her "act of conscience". The resolution of all this rings true.
If for no other reason, this movie is worth seeing for one scene, which I consider one of the finest moments by two actors ever captured on film, and that is the scene between Christine Lahti and Steven Hill as her father. This brief meeting in a very high class New York restaraunt with the fugitive daughter and her prominent industrialist father, who hasn't seen or heard from her in many years, is gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, devastatingly honest and about as "true" a moment by both actors as I have ever seen. It is remarkable.
There are many good scenes in this film, and Sidney Lumet elicits superb performances here as he always seems to do in his best work. This is a lovely film, and it is well-worthwhile.
More Customer Reviews (18 total)
You like Running on Empty?
|
© 2004, 2005, 2006 DVD Booty | Don't Plunder Our Cache of Booty, Matey!
Hosting made possible by donations from Forget The Debt, quick payday, and Why Consolidate Debt
