The Crossing Guard
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anjelica Huston, David Morse, Jack Nicholson, Piper Laurie, Robin Wright PennBrand: Buena Vista Home Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 111 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-11-16
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Miramax
Movie Reviews of The Crossing Guard
Movie Review: Wow! I, For One, Was Surprised
Summary: 5 Stars
Sean Penn (writing/directing duties and a bit more, but not acting) and Jack Nicholson team up for "The Crossing Guard" -- a surprisingly touching film that will stick with any viewer for quite some time. Here's the plot:
(The following contains some spoilers to the storyline, as it is a summarization of most of the film)
The Crossing Guard persists in it's somber mood almost entirely throughout. The story is a seemingly hopeless one. Freddy (Nicholson) plays a father who lost his daughter several years back, and as a result also lost his marriage. He's never even visited his daughter's grave. In short, his life is a wreck. Regardless, he refuses to let the past get a hold of him. He continues the lies and bitterness through the years, trying to push away the pain and live a normal life. Yet when he gets news of an inmate being released, things only get worse. You see, the inmate is John Booth -- the man who accidently killed Freddy's little girl by means of drunk driving. Freddy decides with practically no debate (hell, he's had years of anger to support the decision) that he is going to kill Booth. He tracks down the man (who isn't too far anyway) and after an awkward misfortune (I'll leave that near-humorous surprise for your own discovery) that prevents him from murdering Booth right away, he gives Booth three days to live. Then, after the three days are up, he's coming for him. John Booth is a bit confusing because he insists he won't call the police, and doesn't seem a bit shaken by the idea of this man killing him. He seems more sad and empty than anything. He, too, has lived a life of inner torment as a result of the accident -- although Freddy refuses to have any consideration to such things, only focusing on his blind anger. Now begins the majority of the movie: the three days in which one man awaits his death and another awaits a cold taste of revenge. This is what is so interesting about the film. We get to see the view from both ends. We follow both charaters in their mixed up and broken lives through what must be their last days. The viewer becomes almost as sad and confused as the characters. John Booth has always been (and still remains) torn apart by the accident with the little girl. He feels almost like he deserves it. He constantly struggles to find way to not only cope, but understand it all. Freddy remains ruthless and bitter about everything, only looking forward to what he feels he must do. Both men are faced with the assumptions of everyone else in their life that all is well. They know their upcoming destiny, but no one else does. These people oblivious to the madness unfolding right before them certainly seem small an unappreciative compared to the situation Freddy and John are faced with. Here, I feel Penn tried to stress how some of the "important" things in life are really quite insignificant. The world for both men is falling apart. As the day comes to do the deed, Freddy finds himself as an emotional wreck. He reunites with his ex-wife in a restaurant in need of a discusion after his conscience gets to him. She begins to see how the man who she thought had disapeared after the death of their daughter is still deep inside Freddy somewhere. But as fragile as the situation is, he snaps and storms out. Tonight is the night he must kill John Booth. But, on the way over, he is stopped for drunk driving. The officers want to take him in. Of course, this would be major damage to his plan, so he grabs his pistol and runs. After shaking the cops off his tail, he finally arrives at his destination: Booth's home. He is prepared to kill. But through yet another string of peculiar events, he -- with the assistance of the man he vowed to hate forever -- finds the higher reason for it all behind the tragedy. I'm not going to give this ending away, but I can assure you it is quite heart-warming and worth the wait.
The Crossing Guard is a web of pain and nihilism that life can sometimes pin on someone. And by the end, it all makes sense. Anger, apathy, love, hurt, recovery, heart-break and doing what is right are just a few examples of what this film has managed to squeeze into two hours. A truly remarkable piece. A must see for any fan of drama movies.
Summary of The Crossing Guard
Academy Award(R)-winner Jack Nicholson (1997 Best Actor, AS GOOD AS IT GETS) drives this suspenseful, critically acclaimed action thriller about one man's unquenchable thirst for revenge! For six agonizing years, Freddy Gale (Nicholson) has waited for John Booth (David Morse, THE NEGOTIATOR), the man jailed for a crime that destroyed Freddy's life. Now, Booth is out of prison and Freddy's giving him three days before he returns ... to even the score! Directed by Sean Penn and starring Academy Award(R)-winner Anjelica Huston (1985 Best Supporting Actress, PRIZZI'S HONOR) and sexy Robin Wright (MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE), THE CROSSING GUARD is an intense, emotionally charged thriller that delivers!Sean Penn wrote and directed this character-driven drama about a divorced couple (Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston) whose relationship never recovered following the death of their daughter at the hands of a drunk driver (David Morse). When the latter's character, a deeply regretful and changed man, gets out of jail, Nicholson, as the vengeful dad, decides to go after him. As a director, Penn is not so good with fluid storytelling and camera clichés, but he is amazing as an actor's director. The onscreen reteaming of former real-life lovers Nicholson and Huston is more than just a voyeuristic exercise: Penn ingeniously uses the duo's palpable friction to bring an often horrifying reality to the pain of a dead relationship. --Tom Keogh
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