Sidney Lumet directs River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti in this drama where a family of radicals who live on the run hit a crossroads when their teenage son wants to live his own life.

A solid drama with maybe a little too much focus on the teenage son. Hirsch and Lahti get a couple of grandstanding scenes (her confrontation with her estranged father is particularly good) but this is River Phoenix’s show throughout. And if I were Sidney Lumet and I had the goods I wouldn’t focus it any other way either. But it does lead to a few scenes that are tonally off. Why during the big emotional finale are certain characters silent? Seems untrue. Still, great stuff in spits and spots.

7

Perfect Double Bill: The State I Am In (2000)

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