At Close Range (1986)

(Taking a little break from the sci-fi theme, which will continue tomorrow)

Synopsis: Water is thicker than blood when lowlife (Christopher Walken) teaches his estranged sons (Sean & Chris Penn) the fine art of stealing tractors until the kids get caught and sing like canaries.

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “A fierce film of spellbinding action, AT CLOSE RANGE is the true-life story of one family’s bizarre life of crime.”

What Did I Learn?: 1) If you’re going to rat out your buddies to the cops, it probably isn’t a good idea to be seen with the head detective in the town’s one good restaurant. 2) Raping your son’s girlfriend as a means of getting her out of the picture has the potential to backfire.

You Might Like This Movie If: You need to learn a quick and easy trick for laundering money.

Really?: Sean Penn’s then-wife Madonna received the first end credit (in a font size much, much larger than anything awarded to mere actors) for the film’s recurring use of her song, ‘Live to Tell’.

Rating: Sean Penn and Christopher Walken deliver amazing performances in this well-made film. At Close Range isn’t a fun movie, but it’s a good one. 8.5/10 stars.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090670/