MisterWhiplash Perhaps it's no accident that Sean Penn would later go on to star in She's So Lovely, a film written by John Cassavetes and directed years after his death by his son, Nick. From just the looks of The Indian Runner (not least of which the dedication to John), Penn is a fan. It's not so much in the camera style, as he's rarely if ever taking a hand-held approach to things or letting his cinematographer be as deliberately all over the place as Cassavetes would allow. But emotionally, it's like a wound slowly opening to reveal itself after the initial shock of glancing at it. It's about two brothers with distinctly different paths in life, but who love each other (at least one clearly does) and can't stand to see how things have gotten so bad. And somehow that Indian Runner, a symbol of a weird kind of pure freedom, is always somewhere around.It's not about plot in any stretch but about characters, plain and simple. With great characters comes everything else that's needed, and here Penn scores as good as he ever has had in his short but rewarding career as director (this goes up there with the underrated The Pledge). We see this story unfold of Frankie and Joe, played by Viggo Mortensen and David Morse, one is a Vietnam vet with nothing to win or lose (until he meets a girlfriend, Patricia Arquette plays her), and the other is a cop happily married with a kid. When Frankie gets in trouble with the law repeatedly- and the two brothers' parents die over a period of time- they try and regroup together back in their hometown. Things have a funny way of not quite working out though for Frank, a loose cannon who ultimately blames the world for his problems. Of course, Vietnam could be enough, but it's never that simple to peg (one thinks looking at their brotherhood that Frank has been this way before, only now it's amplified), and it adds a level of psychotic complexity that, again, calls back to Cassavetes. What is it to be afraid of life, or ready to risk it all, are some questions Penn seriously poses (and leaves open for some answer)? And how does death haunt you if it's close and personal. The opening scene of Joe chasing after a guy and killing him after the other guy shot first, is a key one: he is justified in shooting him, but it's not an easy thing to live with killing another person. Joe knows it, and whether Frank did know it is open to interpretation. But one thing is for certain, which is that walking a fine line between peace and anger is a tough one for Frankie, and Joe has little to do but sit back and watch it unfold.Penn takes care writing all of these characters, not just the two principles but also supporting players like those played by Valeria Golino and, in his last serious part, Charles Bronson (sans beard) as the father, who is shook to the core after the death of his wife. Hell, even bit players get some quality screen time, as one scene with a woman sort of pestering Joe at his work about being available to listen if he needs it, or Dennis Hopper's two brief scenes as a bartender. All of the characters, and subsequently the actors, are given something to do, scene after scene, even if it's something we don't look forward to like Arquette's character screaming every other scene (she probably has the least depth of any character, but then not given much to do aside from being a stay-at-home to-be-mom watching her love go down the tubes mentally). Not every directorial choice made by Penn works, such as the cutaway to the actual 'birth' going on in the climax of the film, but enough are really strong to make it a must-see. It's really his gift in handling actors- even a lessor work like The Crossing Guard has its moments with its players- and here Mortensen is the one that gets to shine completely. Morse gives as good as he can, and it's a performance I won't forget, but Viggo is giving a De Niro Mean Streets kind of turn here, a completely honest and tortured performance of a man who doesn't quite know who he is, but he knows what he isn't which is at peace with himself. It's a sad, awesome portrayal that is as unforgettable as anything he's done in recent memory, Cronenberg films included.

frankenbenz Love him or hate him, Sean Penn demands respect. Acting accolades aside, Penn established himself as a director with immense potential with 1991's The Indian Runner. Channeling the works of John Cassavetes and Bob Rafelson, IR is a complex character study inspired by Bruce Springsteen's "Highway Patrolman." Set in the late 1960's / early 1970's, IR is an homage to American New Wave cinema, a movement that helped revolutionize Hollywood. Penn's nostalgia for what is arguably the greatest decade in American film-making history is undeniable and translates so convincingly on the screen, IR could easily be mistaken for a film made twenty years before it was. From IR's muted palette, it's washed out colors, to the painstaking detail of the production design, Penn managed to craft a near perfect American film.The story of two very different brothers, one calm the other rough, is heartbreaking and emotionally raw. David Morse and Viggo Mortenson who play the two brothers, turn in flawless performances that are tortured, haunting and impossible to look away from. Penn's writing is stark, realistic, subtle and poignant all at once, hinting at the possibility he would help re-establish a lost tradition of small, straight forward, but intellectual complex films. But despite IR being cut from the same cloth as Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces, it proved to be a box office flop, unlike FEP which was a hit in 1970. Perhaps Penn's debut came 20 years too late, long after American audiences had forgotten about the Vietnam War and right after they'd grown complacent with Reaganomics or Bush 1's New World Order. Or perhaps IR was made 17 years too early, where today's climate is as soured by a pointless war as it was back in 1970. Time warps aside, Sean Penn should be respected for writing and directing one of the better American films made in the last 38 years.

whpratt1 Greatly enjoyed this film directed by Sean Penn with a great cast of veteran actors and a very interesting story which starred David Morse, (Joe Roberts) who plays the role as a small town chief of police. This film starts off with Charles Bronson, (Mr. Roberts) and Sandy Dennis, (Mrs. Roberts) who raised two boys Joe Roberts and Frank Roberts, (Viggo Mortensen). Frank went to the Viet Nam War and when he returned he met his brother Joe and told him he was not going to live with his father and mother and was going to leave and do just what he wants to do. Frank has some very serious mental problems and gets into all kinds of problems which cause great problems to his mother and father and it makes his brother Joe worry about him all the time. This film had great actors who gave great supporting roles, namely: Sandy Dennis and Charles Bronson. Sandy Dennis gave her last performance in this film and passed away at the early age of 54 years of age after winning an Oscar and appearing in many films and New York City Theater Stage Shows.

Theo Robertson THE Indian RUNNER grossed the measly sum of 191,125 dollars at the American box office , a total so paltry that the Japanese company NHK stopped investing in movies . If they managed to lose a massive amount on their investment they only have themselves to blame . Think about it Sean Penn ( Probably best still known as a hellraiser and the ex husband of Madonna ) walks into the office saying he's written a screenplay based on a song by Bruce Springsteen and he needs money to put it into production " What's it about Mr Penn " " It's about a couple of brothers . one's a upstanding cop and the other is a Vietnam Vet " " And this Vietnam Vet suffers from post traumatic stress disorder ? " " Well kind of " " So he goes out and blows away bad guys and his brother tries to find out who this vigilante is and there's a really dramatic scene at the end where the cop realises his brother is a killer ? " " Ugh no . It's not really that kind of movie since the bad brother doesn't do much " " So who are you planning to cast ? " " Mainly unknowns , though Charles Bronson might be in it " " And he blows away scum ? " " No , it's not that kind of film " " Who else " " Dennis Hopper ? " " And he plays a loopy Vietnam Vet traumatised by his experiences ? " " No he plays a regular Joe bar tender . I even wrote four very short scenes specifically so Hopper could get a part . There's no scenes set in 'Nam , it's not like that film where I over acted opposite Michael Fox . Despite everyone smoking you'd never believe it was the late 1960s " " So what else happens Mr Penn ? " " Not much except you get to see a baby falling out of a front bottom at the end of the movie " " And is that it ? " " Yes "" Okay Mr Penn , here's a blank cheque take as much money as it costs to make . Hopefully we can make a tidy profit " It's difficult to imagine how anyone thought THE Indian RUNNER would have been a success . Everything about it is adequate at best but the lack of a strong high concept plot means it was doomed right from the start as a commercial venture and will probably be remembered only as the debut of Penn as a director