Rating: 
Summary: The Indian Runner
Review: A smart, emotionally compelling movie that epitomizes the gap between love and understanding. The visual imagery of this film is subperb. Rich characters, realistic plots and an undertow of emotion drive this film to a climatic ending that registers with all.
Rating:
Summary: what?
Review: After seeing this great film I went out and got 11 tatoos on my legs, neck, hip and thigh. Viggo should be a star.
Rating: 
Summary: Comments on the review of Indian Runner
Review: Although I rated it with three stars (mostly from the reviews I've read), I haven't actually seen this whole film yet (just bits), and came to Amazon to look at reviews because they're done by REAL people instead of the ones in my local paper who always like the movies I hate and hate the movies I like. With the exception of Steve Keohane, all of the comments struck me as being very thoughtful - and very thought provoking. (Sorry, Steve, but you just came off sounding like some of the people from a film class I had in college who rated EVERYTHING as "a waste of film" simply because they had thought that the class would be going to a movie theater to see current flicks and were disappointed to discover that we were watching old movies in the gym....nothing against you as a person....*grin*) Although I initially was thinking about seeing this one in its entirety just because there was a rumor that Viggo Mortensen gets nekkid, I'll now be watching it to see if I agree that Sean Penn is a great director in the making...
Rating:
Summary: The World in Black and White
Review: Although made in 1991, The Indian Runner finally came out on DVD in April of 2003, and I have had to watch it numerous times. It is a fascinating character study of Frank. To Frank, life was not shades of grey, but black and white, and he simply would not bend in order to live in this world. Basically, you watch his downfall through the course of the movie. I could understand Frank's character, though, because he was an innocent. Even though he was capable of mayhem, he was also vulnerable and sympathetic due to his uncompromising approach to life. Viggo Mortensen does his best work here, having given Frank's character the utmost consideration. Sean Penn's poetry of the movie was outstanding, weaving the Indian Runner theme throughout the movie in a variety of ways. Although the movie is 12 years old, it is incredible. For a first directorial job, it is amazing. A belated congratulations to all involved with the film. The only thing I wish it had was more special features. It would have been nice to hear the director's and some characters' takes on their approaches and characterizations.
Rating:
Summary: The World in Black and White
Review: Although made in 1991, The Indian Runner finally came out on DVD in April of 2003, and I have had to watch it numerous times. It is a fascinating character study of Frank. To Frank, life was not shades of grey, but black and white, and he simply would not bend in order to live in this world. Basically, you watch his downfall through the course of the movie. I could understand Frank's character, though, because he was an innocent. Even though he was capable of mayhem, he was also vulnerable and sympathetic due to his uncompromising approach to life. Viggo Mortensen does his best work here, having given Frank's character the utmost consideration. Sean Penn's poetry of the movie was outstanding, weaving the Indian Runner theme throughout the movie in a variety of ways. Although the movie is 12 years old, it is incredible. For a first directorial job, it is amazing. A belated congratulations to all involved with the film. The only thing I wish it had was more special features. It would have been nice to hear the director's and some characters' takes on their approaches and characterizations.
Rating: 
Summary: Well acted but poorly written and ultimately unsatisfying
Review: I am a big fan of Charles Bronson, David Morse and Viggo Mortensen, so I was hoping for a movie that I could really enjoy. But I was disappointed; "The Indian Runner" is a disjointed, choppy story that left me wishing I knew more about the characters I met. I never really connected with any of the characters. And that is a shame, since they hold such promise. I felt compassion for David Morse's Joe; his balance of trying to do the right thing and trying to do right by the brother he once knew is truly moving. Charles Bronson brought gravitas and hopeless dignity to the movie as Joe and Frank's father. And Viggo's portrayal of Frank, a Vietnam vet who brings home scars both old and new, is amazing. But as much as I wanted to feel for these characters, I never felt engaged. I don't expect movies to tie everything up in neat little packages, but I do expect to be able to see the progression of a character or the development of a story. And neither one happens in this film. There is no plot; but since the story is about the interaction between brothers that is just fine. However, there is never a moment when I understood what is going on inside of these characters; there is always a distance that can't be swept aside. Since Sean Penn wrote *and* directed this movie he may have felt that he conveyed more on film than he actually did. And for the actors to be able to have done their jobs so well, they had to have known more about these characters than was shared onscreen. I just wish I had been let in on it. Based on Bruce Springsteen's "Highway Patrolman", this is really just a songfic (a story based on the lyrics of a song) that got produced into a movie. Sean Penn seems to have an eye for what makes a good shot, and he obviously knows how to get great performances from his actors. Even though I was disappointed with this film, it makes me want to watch "The Crossing Guard" to see if he has refined what could ultimately be a quite amazing gift.
Rating:
Summary: brilliant film, powerful acting, written like a book.
Review: I just want to say that this movie is probably one of the best I've ever seen. Everything is POWERFUL. The naked honesty of opposing poles of personality and life is exposed to the core here. I saw myself, with the whole world behind me, as in a mirror.
Rating:
Summary: brilliant film, powerful acting, written like a book.
Review: I just want to say that this movie is probably one of the best I've ever seen. Everything is POWERFUL. The naked honesty of opposing poles of personality and life is exposed to the core here. I saw myself, with the whole world behind me, as in a mirror.
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Summary: Raw, touching, emotional roller coaster
Review: I just watched it again and I get something a little different out of it every time I watch it. I'd never even heard of it until a friend told me about it a while ago. For me, to even want to watch a movie more than once is a rare event, because alot of movies I've seen are so predictable to me, so fake, so polished, the imperfections sandblasted down to perfectly flawless imperfection, that I rarely ever get drawn in to the story or feel the emotions in a movie. On the flip side of that, I love how each character in the Indian Runner is multi-dimensional and 'real'. It's not just about a 'good' brother vs. 'bad' brother situation. It gets more complicated than that. I'm still thinking about the part where Joe said to Frank he stills loves him even though now he understands how he thinks about the circumstances surrounding his father..... Anyway, if you're tired of all those slick movies and you feel like you need something with more substance, something that will work your brain muscles for a bit and make you think...about people, about relationships and love, about family -- then I'd rent or buy this if I were you. I'm going to get back to looking for the soundtrack now, which is how I ended up here in the first place.
Rating:
Summary: Sean Penn -- Method Director?
Review: I once heard Sean Penn's film referred to as "Method movies," and I can't think of any better description. Though having only released (as of this writing) three films, Penn has created a style that is as distinct and indentifiable as his own idiosyncratic performances as an actor. Penn's films take place in a gray area that is rarely visited by Hollywood films today -- a rather grim place where the action moves slowly and where the images are rarely happy but somehow remain impossible to look away from. These aren't the type of films that make money or draw huge weekend crowds but they are the films that people will still be watching decades from now. The first of these films was the flawed but still compelling Indian Runner, which tells the tragic story of Viggo Mortensen, an unstable vet who returns home and, despite the best efforts of his peace-maker brother David Morse, continues to spin out of control. Obviously, this is not a happy film but it is still surprisingly touching and that's largely because of the cast -- the majority of whom have never been better and for that, I give full credit to director Penn. While its obvious, at times, that he still has a bit to learn about pacing, it is also obvious that Penn knows how to get great performances out of his actors. Mortensen, playing a role that could have easily become a flat villian, is quite simply amazing. Even as it becomes clear that this is not someone you'd feel safe living next to, the viewer still can't help but feel an amazing empathy for this fractured human being. Penn, as director and writer, is actually willing to take the time to allow Mortensen to become a real, flawed human being. David Morse, always underrated, is much more low-key than Mortensen but no less compelling. He makes his love for his brother both believable and real and it adds a truly tragic air to his efforts to protect Mortensen. However, for me, the film's most shocking revelation is Charles Bronson, cast here as Mortensen and Morse's father. After several decades worth of films where Bronson was basically a blank slate, Bronson is a revelation here. As the father, Bronson becomes a tragic, haunting father and -- and here's the shocking part for those of us who have seen the Death Wish films -- is actually believably human and vulnerable. His final emotional scene is heart breaking -- largely because of Bronson's own performance. As I said before, this is a flawed film -- mostly in terms of pace. Sometimes, Penn does seem to be insecure about his directorial and writing choices -- as if he's straining to make sure no one misses the point. But these flaws are honestly just nitpicking. I give this film five stars because it heralded the arrival of Sean Penn as an important director and it featured some of the best acting I have ever seen in my life.
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