Running on Empty
RUNNING ON EMPTY (15)
D: Sidney Lumet
Warner Bros./Lorimar/Double Play (Amy Robinson &
Griffin Dunne)
US 1988
116 mins
Drama
W: Naomi Foner
DP: Gerry Fisher
Ed: Andrew Mondshein
Mus: Tony Mottola
Christine Lahti (Annie Pope), Judd Hirsch (Arthur
Pope), River Phoenix(Danny Pope), Martha Plimpton (Lorna Phillips), L.M. Kit Carson (Gus Winant)
A husband and wife political activist duo and long
time targets of the FBI find their family life in jeopardy and they feel the need to relocate once again, but their teenage son wants to part ways so he can focus on his own life
emancipated from his runaway parents.
A critical darling of 1988 which didn't quite engage
with audiences, perhaps because it's difficult to sympathise with the parents' characters. River Phoenix, however, is a revelation, delivering one of the best supporting performances of
the year and deservingly rewarded with an Oscar nomination for his part.
6/10
