At Close Range, But So Far Away
A Story About a Boy, His Father, Crime and Betrayal in Pennsylvania
May 5, 2008
At Close Range is a strange film. It depicts teenagers who know they are going nowhere. Its shows us a shadowy and violent underworld in rural Pennsylvania, where stealing tractors is big business. It tells the story of Brad Whitewood Junior (Sean Penn) desperately seeking to find a connection to his father, Brad Senior (Christopher Walken).
The Setup
One day Brad Senior walks into his ex-wife’s home, right past his son, and goes to walk out again. Something about the way the boy looks compels him to stop. He cocks his head as only Walken can do, and almost lovingly asks ‘Little Brad’, “How old are you now?”
Little Brad has a fight with his mother’s boyfriend, and goes off to find his father. Brad Senior takes him in at arm’s distance, but shows him a con, gives him a car and a few ideas. Soon Little Brad and his brother Tommy (Chris Penn) form a gang with a few of the other teenagers, and before you know it, they’re stealing tractors, learning the trade of the underworld.
Little Brad has also fallen in love with Terry (Mary Stuart Masterson), a farm girl of sixteen, who has the same look in her eyes that he does; desperation for something better. The idea here is that anything has to be better, and Little Brad thinks that making some money, no matter how, will let him go far away with the girl that he loves. At the same time he’s trying to carve out a relationship with his father, who doesn’t have the time, or desire to teach kids how to steal.
The Problem
The kid gang gets caught one night trying to pull off a larger score; their inexperience and youth does them in. Every one of them is bailed out except Little Brad, who refuses to talk about anyone or anything he knows.
Brad Senior doesn’t think the silence will stand, so he tries to get to his son through Terry. He starts handling the kid gang, piece by piece, in his own way. The problem is, this has the reverse effect. Little Brad does get out, leading to a shocking climax that is cruel, cold, and violent. Everything in this story, at its roots is based upon cruel, calculated actions, for the sole purpose of self preservation.
So Why See It?
This strange, ugly, cold film was based on a true story as documented in Time Magazine here: It Was Pennsylvania Gothic. For fantastic performances by all involved, including David Strathairn and Crispin Glover in supporting roles. To see a beautifully shot film directed by James Foley, and finally perhaps, because everyone at one point or another as human beings needs to see the harsh reality of others to put everything into perspective for themselves. Sadness and cruelty, believe it or not, actually exist.
All Character/Actor names referenced via IMDB.
