Director: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Christine Lahti, Judd Hirsch, River Phoenix, Martha Plimpton
Running Time: 116 minutes
Synopsis: Married middle-aged couple Annie and Arthur Pope (Christine Lahti and Judd Hirsch) are life-long fugitives, wanted by the FBI for bombing a weapons lab in a Vietnam War era act of protest. They live in plain sight with their two boys Danny (River Phoenix) and Harry, but are experts at uprooting and assuming new identities whenever authorities close in. After yet another move to another town, Danny's piano talent is noticed by his new school music teacher Mr. Phillips, and he experiences first love with Mr. Phillips' daughter Lorna (Martha Plimpton). When it's almost time to move again, Danny is torn between his parents' past and his future opportunities.
Synopsis: Married middle-aged couple Annie and Arthur Pope (Christine Lahti and Judd Hirsch) are life-long fugitives, wanted by the FBI for bombing a weapons lab in a Vietnam War era act of protest. They live in plain sight with their two boys Danny (River Phoenix) and Harry, but are experts at uprooting and assuming new identities whenever authorities close in. After yet another move to another town, Danny's piano talent is noticed by his new school music teacher Mr. Phillips, and he experiences first love with Mr. Phillips' daughter Lorna (Martha Plimpton). When it's almost time to move again, Danny is torn between his parents' past and his future opportunities.
What Works Well: This expertly crafted family drama explores the tensions of loyalty underpinned by parent-child dynamics. Writer Naomi Foner invests in three complex characters, equipping Annie, Arthur, and Danny with well-rounded motivations and compelling internal dilemmas as they grapple with the past's shadow on the future. Christine Lahti, Judd Hirsch, and especially River Phoenix deliver textured performances free of melodrama, creating space for quietly colliding expectations as a teenager moves into adulthood and discovers the natural need to forge his identity. Director Sidney Lumet wisely allows the material to soar on its own strength, but still delivers several scenes tingling with organic emotions.
What Does Not Work As Well: For the premise to work, law enforcement agencies need to be rather inept at cornering the Pope family. The entire manhunt counterview is therefore buried deep in the background.
Key Quote:
Lorna (to Michael): Why do you have to carry the burden of someone else's life?
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