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.
Rating:
Summary: Haunting and powerfull film
Review: Inspired by a Bruce Springsteen song "Highway Patrol Man", Sean Penn directs a disturbing and honest film. Viggo Mortensen, who plays "Frank" gives one of the greatest performances caught on film. His character is complex, dark, and revealing of a sadness which has been with him throughout his life. The final scene in which Joe sees his brother Frank as a little boy and then as blood-stained madman driving into the darkness is imbedded in my head. Its movies like this which give hope to the future of filmaking.
Rating:
Summary: The Indian Runner
Review: It's not a happy movie. But when I watched it, I had a good chance to think about what real happiness is, what love is between husband and wife, and between brothers. I think it is one of the greatest movies I've ever watched before.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best films of all time!
Review: Most people I've known have never seen the Indian Runner. That is very sad because this is one of the greatest films of all time. Sean Penn directed this tale of two brothers, one a family man and the other an ex-con who just can't stop getting himself in trouble. Viggo plays the tattooed and angry Frank, a man on the edge who comes home with his girlfriend played by Patricia Arquette. This film is a wild ride in their lives and it is a very sad and involving story. You can't watch the ending without being touched. This film is about family and brothers. It shows that sometimes a person can't be saved as is the case with Frank. David Morse plays the good brother who just wants to help this lost man find his way. At the end, Frank's vicious outburst and his flight is shown as the brother seeing Frank as the child he had been versus the blood-drenched monster he had become. During this time, you see Frank's wife giving birth to their child. Its a very powerful ending to a film. The Indian Runner is a beautiful and haunting film. Once you see it, there is something so powerful on the screen that you can't ever forget it. A masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Please Wathc This Film
Review: Not only have I watched this film over 50 times, but I have almost memorized all of the words. To say this is my favorite move is not doing it justice. I find a piece of myself in both Frank and Joe. I have brothers and have played the roll of both of the characters in this film. There are parts that will have you laughing and parts to make you cry. GET THIS MOVIE!!! I own 4 copies!!!
Rating: 
Summary: I admit it
Review: O.K. I admit it. Curiousity got the best of me. I had to see Viggo Mortensen's full frontal. It is what it is. However, this movie has other merits. It is a story about family and brotherly love. It is one brother's struggle to adjust to this world. I love it when Frank says he's still trying to figure out what happened to Santa Claus.
I think that Sean Penn, the movie's writer/director, should have made a better link to how Vietnam added to Frank's rage and inability to fit in.
I love the parts with the brothers bonding and playing rhyming games. Frank's brother really tries to help him.
I got a little more than I bargained for with a birth scene. I also remember thinking gosh, these people smoke a lot! It is not a bad movie, and it does serve a purpose. However, I wouldn't want to own it.
Rating:
Summary: The Indian Runner
Review: One of the finest fims of the 1990s, The Indian Runner serves as a powerful reminder of our powerlessness to change the people we love. Though the picture is unblinking in its showcase of human weakness, the film has an overwhelming compassion for the wounded souls it presents. Viggo Mortenson breaks my heart every time I watch his character, Frankie Roberts, in his brother Joe's car--the night after his violent binge. Frankie's final monologue, a drunken, self-righteous ramble about elementary school math class and the tooth fairy (among other things), is extraordinarily strange and comprehensible. Throughout the film, Mortenson dares his brother and his wife to love him, as he spews abuse (and peas) in their faces. Not only do they continue to love this pitiful monster, but we do, too. In a perfect world, Mortenson and David Morse would have shared the Best Actor Oscar in 1991 (Anthony Hopkins can win any year he wants to) and Sean Penn would have won Best Director and Best Screenplay. Jack Nitchze's soundtrack and the late-'60s--early '70s song selections perfectly complement the tone of this masterpiece. Midway through the film, Penn and his editor Jay Cassidy give us a scene that astonishes in its bold craftsmanship and beauty. This scene includes David Morse, Patricia Arquette, Viggo Mortenson, Charles Bronson, and some poor schmoe at his Hawaiian-style birthday party (L.M. Kit Carson, I think)--living out their lives in different parts of the Midwest over the course of one night while a singer croons over the soundtrack. One of them will soon kill himself; another goes on a crime spree; one loses his sportscar; another waits by the phone. This is maverick filmmaking, and it leaves you breathless! The scene is played without dialogue, but you still learn so much about the characters through their facial expressions and reactions. If Sean Penn had never made another movie, he would deserve to be named among the top 10 directors of the '90s for the 127 minutes of no-compromise-storytelling he demonstrates in The Indian Runner. I will never miss another one of his films.
Rating:
Summary: Promising directorial debut
Review: Sean Penn in his opera prima as director was very succesful. He developed an interesting approach about two brothers in a small village.
This movie has a strong influence mythical; two brothers work out as the alpha and omega. The atmosphere is loaded with reflexive issues.
I saw this film in 1992 and I suspected that this one would be a cult movie and for selected audiences.
Penn made an artistic work with very well depicted characters supprted with a solid script,filled with sugestive visual methapors.
Vigo Mortenesen revealed himself with this film as a young promise ; Denis Hooper as always, shows his actoral skills once more in a very brief appearance.
Watch this one. A rewarding film.
Rating: 
Summary: Run with this one.
Review: Sean Penn's writing/directing debut is a fine mood piece about two Midwest brothers, one a decent, small-town cop, the other a prodigal, violent ne'er-do-well. This one has a couple of lulls, but stick with it--it's effective, moving, with strong performances all around.
Rating:
Summary: A Tale of Two Brothers
Review: Sean Penn`s directorial debut is a strong and absorbing character study that focuses the relationship of two brothers and the (contraditory) choices they made in their lives. David Morse and Viggo Mortensen give superb and utterly credible performances as the two multi-layered and three-dimensional young adults who don`t quite know how to deal with their future. "The Indian Runner" is a moving, subtle and poignant drama that wisely showcases the complex and deep connection between brothers, providing plenty of heartfelt and emotional scenes. Penn wisely avoids sappy moments and instead choses a realistic and low-key perspective, developing the story with a well-crafted crescendo of dramatic tension. Those expecting a typical and obvious Hollywood tearjerker won`t like this. The pacing is a bit uneven, since there are a couple of too long sequences at parts, still that doesn`t affect the overall quality of the movie. "The Indian Runner" is a mature and compelling cineamtic experience, and it`s unfortunate that it was so overlooked when it came out in the early nineties. Highly Recommended.
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