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The Indian Runner

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The Indian Runner (1991)
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Genre Drama
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The Indian Runner overview

The Indian Runner, Sean Penn's debut film as director (he also wrote the script, based on the Bruce Springsteen song "Highway Patrolman") is a brooding tale of two brothers -- one peaceful and sedate, the other violent and aggressive -- whose natures, left unchecked since they were children, are set to the boiling point as they head toward middle-age. David Morse is the quiet brother, Joe Roberts, who is a deputy sheriff in a small town. His older brother Frank (Viggo Mortensen) shows up on Joe's doorsteps, after a recent run-in with the police. Frank tells Joe that he is coming back home to stay and that he has given up his criminal life. His wife Maria (Valeria Golino) is skeptical, but Joe tells her that he is prepared to help Frank get his life back together. Frank has almost convinced himself that his future holds real promise and he's ready to start a new life with his pregnant girlfriend Dorothy (Patricia Arquette). But, once again, Frank's violent temper explodes, and everyone's plans for Frank's future crumble into rubble. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

News & Reviews

The Indian Runner News & Reviews

"While he has all the heavyweight America-gone-sour themes and confused characters found in roadside movies like Five Easy Pieces, Electra Glide In Blue or Thieves Like Us, he misses the eccentric and exciting spikiness that made them more than just gloomfests."
2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5
03 February 2008
"Since the movie isn't about Indians -- it concerns two brothers in Nebraska, in the Sixties -- we've got problems. "
"Sean Penn makes an arresting directorial debut with this intense character drama inspired in equal parts by the stark, folksy, early-'80s recordings of singer/songwriter Bruce Springsteen (the film is loosely based on his song "Highway Patrolman") and the improvisational films of actor/director John Cassavetes. Like the latter's work, Penn's fi..."
3.5 out of 53.5 out of 53.5 out of 53.5 out of 53.5 out of 5

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