MovieChat Forums > At Close Range (1986) Discussion > My only complaint...

My only complaint...

posted 13 years ago by NataBrat
6 replies | jump to latest

My only complaint about this movie is they did not use nearly enough of Sean Penn's talent. The scenes of him confronting his dad in the kitchen and also when he was in the courtroom were so powerful. I would of loved to see more of that.
Christopher Walken can never do wrong in my book.

I do have one question. WHY did dad do that to Terri? What was the motivation? Was it supposed to be a warning to Brad Jr to 'keep his mouth shut'? I can't imagine that dad would not realize that hurting Terri would piss Jr off even more.

NataBrat
My Blog: http://www.NataBrat.com

[–] doctor_dickenstein 13 years ago

well, sean penn was still up-and-coming at the time. i agree w/you about walken.

as far as your question...the plan was to kill both jr. and terry at the same time...he/they had already killed everyone else & they were the last of the bunch.

"He must've thought it was white boy day. It ain't white boy day, is it?"

[–] judyacst1-1 12 years ago

love your reference to another totally awesome film!

[–] doctor_dickenstein 12 years ago

lol, thanks! it is a great film...and that was a great scene! love oldman in that!

"He must've thought it was white boy day. It ain't white boy day, is it?"

[–] franzkabuki 12 years ago

There´s always this problem with Sean Penn movies when he was younger - on one hand you usually get good to great performances, but on the other hand you have to stare at his ugly, obnoxious face for long periods of time... He only started to look more or less normal when he was nearing 40, like in The Thin Red Line.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] jason-859-777508 12 years ago

That was kind of the point of the part.

Brad Jr. was kind of an 'in his shell', strong silent type to contrast the villainy, pomp and flamboyance of the Brad Sr. role played perfectly by Walken little surprise.

If your hair is on fire, you need to act like your hair is on fire. - Senator Nina Turner

[–] gluserty 12 years ago

I think the poster NataBrat's question referred to Brad Sr.'s raping of Terri while Brad Jr. was in lockup. Yeah, I believe it was supposed to be a message (which is in line with the documented story on Bruce Johnston Sr. and his gang that this film was based on). I think that in both real life and in the film bloodshed was ineviable once that younger crew was busted and slated to testify to the grand jury, since Big Brad wasn't going to take a chance on leaving loose ends. Poor Terri (Robin Miller in real life) was collateral damage in a gripping and dark story.