Having made quite a study of Robert Mitchum's filmography, I wanted to rent a few movies he made in the later part of his career. Too often, a fantastic leading actor gets older and finds the only roles available to him or her are five-minute parts playing a grandparent, or character that make fun of themselves or elderly people in general. I find it sad to watch movies, and thankfully, Robert Mitchum's career didn't take that turn. Yes, in his sixties and seventies, he wasn't playing sex symbols anymore, but he still got first billing and leading, meaty roles.
Now, with that grand introduction, you probably think I'm going to recommend A Killer in the Family, don't you? I'm not. In fact, I'm going to tell you to stay very far away from it. As much as I love Robert Mitchum, and as wonderfully chilling as his performance is, I'm sorry I watched it. He plays a convicted murderer who plans a jailbreak with his three teenage sons, James Spader, Eric Stoltz, and Lance Kerwin. The three boys not only look and act like they came from the same family, but they give wonderfully layered performances. Loyalty, betrayal, confusion, fear, trust, disgust, and denial, are just a few emotions they all deal with, giving the audience very realistic performances. Usually when the entire cast does a good job, I give credit to the director, so hats off to Richard T. Heffron; if you want to see more of his work, rent the epic miniseries North and South!
This movie is extremely upsetting to watch, even more so because it's based on a true story. Unless you really like eerie, disturbing true crime stories like Alpha Dog, I wouldn't recommend you watch it. Even if you're a Robert Mitchum fan like I am, you can imagine him as a trustworthy, cold killer who uses warmth and loyalty to get what he wants without actually seeing him do it. Just rent The Night of the Hunter again instead. It's not nearly as upsetting, and it didn't really happen.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to upsetting scenes involving children, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
Now, with that grand introduction, you probably think I'm going to recommend A Killer in the Family, don't you? I'm not. In fact, I'm going to tell you to stay very far away from it. As much as I love Robert Mitchum, and as wonderfully chilling as his performance is, I'm sorry I watched it. He plays a convicted murderer who plans a jailbreak with his three teenage sons, James Spader, Eric Stoltz, and Lance Kerwin. The three boys not only look and act like they came from the same family, but they give wonderfully layered performances. Loyalty, betrayal, confusion, fear, trust, disgust, and denial, are just a few emotions they all deal with, giving the audience very realistic performances. Usually when the entire cast does a good job, I give credit to the director, so hats off to Richard T. Heffron; if you want to see more of his work, rent the epic miniseries North and South!
This movie is extremely upsetting to watch, even more so because it's based on a true story. Unless you really like eerie, disturbing true crime stories like Alpha Dog, I wouldn't recommend you watch it. Even if you're a Robert Mitchum fan like I am, you can imagine him as a trustworthy, cold killer who uses warmth and loyalty to get what he wants without actually seeing him do it. Just rent The Night of the Hunter again instead. It's not nearly as upsetting, and it didn't really happen.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to upsetting scenes involving children, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.