Sean Penn's elegy to manly men and the American way of life ends up falling between faux-indie naturalism and starry Hollywood gloss. It's dedicated to Hal Ashby, and the influence of the New Hollywood director's Coming Home, especially, is writ a little too large in the tale of a naughty Vietnam tearaway (Viggo Mortensen, on top form) returning home to his straitlaced brother (David Morse). Still, the less showy performances do resonate.
DVD Extras:
None.Penn talks a good fight, so the lack of extras makes you wonder whether he has much time for his dated directorial debut. But the film serves as a post-The Pledge reminder of how Mr Sean's movie-muscle is best flexed: raw, character-based drama, free of self-indulgent Americana and overly actorly star turns.
