The Crossing Guard
"One of the Most Powerful Movies of the Year!" - Fox-TV
Academy Award winner Jack Nicholson (1997 Best Actor, As Good As It Gets) drives this suspenseful, critically acclaimed action thriller about one man's unquenchable thirst for revenge! For six agonizing years, Freddy Gale (Nicholson) has waited for John Booth (David Morse, The Negotiator), the man jailed for a crime that destroyed Freddy's life. Now, Booth is out of prison and Freddy's giving him three days before he returns...to even the score! Directed by Sean Penn and starring Academy Award Winner Anjelica Huston (1985 Best Supporting Actress, Prizzi's Honor) and sexy Robin Wright (Message In A Bottle), The Crossing Guard is an intense, emotionally charged thriller that delivers!
Member Reviews
Wasted, mess of a movie with bad and funny dialogues. - moviemonger
In Sean Penn's The Crossing Guard, a flawed but thought-provoking motion picture, Jack Nicholson's Freddy Gale has opened his arms to the embrace of anguish and hatred. Nothing -- not the pleas of his ex-wife Mary (Angelica Huston) or the excesses of drink and sex to which he succumbs -- allows him to forget, or, more importantly, forgive. The problem with The Crossing Guard is not the premise or core theme, but the manner in which director Sean Penn breathes life into the story. This film is horribly unfocused. Significant chunks of screen time are devoted to unrelated, superfluous, and cryptic sequences. Many apparently have been included for the purpose of enhanced characterization, but, since basic character development is handled effectively early in the movie, much of this material is redundant.
When Penn hits the right tone, his direction shows undeniable power. The Crossing Guard contains several noteworthy scenes. One, which illustrates the potency of Freddy's bereavement better than all of Nicholson's ravings, has Freddy silently watching a loving father and daughter hug. Another has John visiting the grave of his victim. A third takes place in a coffee shop, where Freddy and Mary perform an autopsy of their marriage. Then there's John's description of what it was like to watch Emily die. Had all of The Crossing Guard been put together with such deft skill, this could have been an amazing motion picture. Alas, what's on-screen too often devolves into ineffective melodrama.Great premise, poorly executed. - KeithTalent
I like the idea of this film, but the execution fell a bit flat to me. This stars Jack Nicholson as a now divorced Father who lost his daughter to a drunk driver. It focuses on Jack's desire for revenge (well his heartbreak really) and how it has overwhelmed his life. I found some of the direction to be kind of spotty, with some weird shots and some awkward sequences. There were some great pieces, like most of the stuff with Nicholson and Anjelica Houston, but even almost all of the stuff David Morse does was sort of awkward and weird. It was ok, but by the end I wanted it to just, well, end.Awkward Direction, Great Acting - anton_d_mannaseh
Sean Penn's masterpiece (so far) is 'The Pledge,' because he keeps the movie under control.
In 'The Crossing Guard' I felt like Penn had no control over the shooting of the picture -and the script isn't great either, so he tried to save it in the editing room -but failed. The acting is tremendous though. Especially Nicholson, David Morse, and Robin Wright Penn.
'The Crossing Guard' isn't quite as powerful as it wants to be. However, if you like great acting -look no further. Jack is at his best.
Member Reviews
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Wasted, mess of a movie with bad and funny dialogues. - moviemonger
In Sean Penn's The Crossing Guard, a flawed but thought-provoking motion picture, Jack Nicholson's Freddy Gale has opened his arms to the embrace of anguish and hatred. Nothing -- not the pleas of his ex-wife Mary (Angelica Huston) or the excesses of drink ...Great premise, poorly executed. - KeithTalent
I like the idea of this film, but the execution fell a bit flat to me. This stars Jack Nicholson as a now divorced Father who lost his daughter to a drunk driver. It focuses on Jack's desire for revenge (well his heartbreak really) and how it has overwhelmed ...Awkward Direction, Great Acting - anton_d_mannaseh
Sean Penn's masterpiece (so far) is 'The Pledge,' because he keeps the movie under control.
In 'The Crossing Guard' I felt like Penn had no control over the shooting of the picture -and the script isn't great either, so he tried to save it in the ...