At Close Range

"Like father. Like son. Like hell."

1986 1h 56m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

🍅

88%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 322🍅88%Rotten Tomatoes●67Metacritic★6.9IMDB · 19,987

CrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Brad Whitewood Jr. lives in rural Pennsylvania and has few prospects. Against his mother's wishes, he seeks out his estranged father, the head of a gang of thieves in a nearby town. Though his new girlfriend supports his criminal ambitions, Brad Jr. soon learns that his father is a dangerous man.

“Like father. Like son. Like hell.”

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Cast

Sean Penn
Bradford 'Brad' Whitewood Jr.
Christopher Walken
Bradford 'Brad' Whitewood Sr.
Mary Stuart Masterson
Terry
Chris Penn
Thomas 'Tommy' Whitewood
Millie Perkins
Julie
Eileen Ryan
Grandma
Tracey Walter
Uncle Patch Whitewood
David Strathairn
Tony Pine

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: James Foley
Writers: Nicholas Kazan, Nicholas Kazan, Elliott Lewitt
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 36% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

40 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by James Foley, shot by Juan Ruiz Anchía. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Patrick Leonard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Howard E. Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sean Penn and Christopher Walken and Mary Stuart Masterson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Like father. Like son. Like hell.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

James Foley directs. Juan Ruiz Anchía behind the camera. Patrick Leonard scores. Howard E. Smith cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 36% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
240 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.
4Directed by James Foley, shot by Juan Ruiz Anchía. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Patrick Leonard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Howard E. Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Sean Penn and Christopher Walken and Mary Stuart Masterson carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Like father. Like son. Like hell.".
9IMDB entry: tt0090670 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 29 themes, including "small town", "rape", "pennsylvania, usa", "money laundering".

The technical file

Cinematography: Juan Ruiz Anchía
Original score: Patrick Leonard
Editing: Howard E. Smith
Production design: Peter Jamison
Costume design: Hilary Rosenfeld
Makeup / hair: Leslie Ann Anderson
Sound: David J. Hudson
Stunt coordinator: Chuck Waters
Runtime: 116 min · 1h 56m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $6,500,000
Box office: $2,347,000
Return: 36% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: At Close Range (1986)
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 67/100
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 19,987 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

2 wins & 2 nominations total

Also by

James Foley

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-12-07
★ 6/10
The last twenty minutes of this rather enliven it, but otherwise it's rather dull story of "Brad" (Sean Penn) who is rather in awe of his criminal "Dad Brad" (Christopher Walken) and hopes to one day emulate what he sees as his glamorous lifestyle. One such day arrives when the father agrees to plan a robbery for his son to execute only things don't go to plan and just about everyone discovers just how vicious the older man can be when it comes to his own self-preservation. Most of this is really just an excuse for Penn to wander around shirtless showing off his pecs whilst a few variations of Madonna's "Live to Tell" serenade us from the sidelines. The two women who feature here - Mary Stuart Masterson's "Terry" and Millie Perkins's "Julie" make little impact on the Penn family beauty pageant (his brother Chris also features as his younger sibling "Tommy") and though Walken emanates just an hint of menace as the plot thickens, it's all just too little too late by the end when I really wasn't bothered about this repetitive tale of a dysfunctional family with testicles where their brains ought to be. It's based on a real life family in Philadelphia, and maybe that notoriety is all that helps this remain memorable. Neither the writing nor the vaguely pugilistic Penn and his John Wayne walk can do that.

Production companies