YouHeart I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

WiseRatFlames An unexpected masterpiece

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Scott LeBrun Sean Penn delivers a solid, mostly under stated performance as Brad Whitewood Jr., living in Pennsylvania in the late 70s with a mother (Millie Perkins), grandmother (Eileen Ryan), and half-brother Tommy (Chris Penn). Brad and Tommy's estranged father Brad Sr. (Christopher Walken) fatefully re-enters their lives, and they become intrigued with the criminal life that he leads. Ultimately, they will realize that this rediscovered father figure is as toxic as he can possibly get. Brad Sr. will stop at NOTHING to protect his interests, including murder.This imperfect but still pretty powerful drama was inspired by a real-life case, and it's noticeably downbeat and violent. Something this viewer felt was lacking was a stronger connection to Brad Jr. and Tommy, although they are basically okay kids with a mildly punkish streak. As we can see, they're young enough to be impressionable, and the magnetic Brad Sr. messes up their lives for the worse.Director James Foley (who also cameos as an assistant D.A.) crafts a reasonably stylish and good looking film, shot in widescreen on various scenic locations. The haunting (if also fairly repetitive) music score is courtesy of Patrick Leonard, who also wrote the classic theme song "Live to Tell" with Madonna. The use of violence is, for the most part, restrained, except for one shocking act of brutality late in the picture, when Brad Jr. is confronted with the depths of his dads' depravity.Excellent casting in just about every role helps. The real-life Penn brothers have good chemistry, and it's nice to see them in scenes with Ryan, their mother. Mary Stuart Masterson has much appeal as the under-age girl to whom Brad Jr. is drawn. Familiar younger actors like Crispin Glover, Kiefer Sutherland, and Stephen Geoffreys of "Fright Night" turn up, as well as some of L.A.'s top character actors: Penn family friend R.D. Call ("Waterworld") as Dickie, David Strathairn ("Good Night, and Good Luck.") as Tony Pine, J.C. Quinn ("The Abyss") as Boyd, and Tracey Walter ("Repo Man") as amiable chatterbox Patch. Walken dominates it all with a performance that may not be free from standard Walken eccentricities / line delivery, but is disturbingly effective in its creepy charisma.Overall, "At Close Range" does work viscerally, and stays with you after its final moments.Scripted by Nicholas Kazan, based on a screen story by him and producer Elliott Lewitt.Seven out of 10.

Maziun It's kinda unfairly forgotten drama about searching your own place in the world and the relationship between father and son.Director James Foley directs this movie with style , but the whole movie is too cold to really affect the viewer. The dramatic scenes lack the tension they should have and the movie does seem to drag at places , like it doesn't know where to go next. The screenplay could have been better. It is based on real story , yet it never really gives us insight into the characters . I think they should be more complex. Also other characters seem rather passive (Peann's mother) and some subplots seem unnecessary. Anyway , while watching the movie I've got a feeling that the writer could done better job.The acting is probably the best ting in the movie . Sean Penn and Christopher Walken are great . Walken always had talent for playing twisted characters. Penn gives a likable performance as the frustrated teenager. Mary Mastroniano and Christopher Penn also give solid support as respectively – the delicate girlfriend and the loyal brother.It's a great, unfairly forgotten drama movie from the 80's. I give it 8/10.

Rich Wright The song Live To Tell by Madonna originated from this film, and intrigued by it's lyrical content, I decided to watch the movie it came from. It turns out the words of the hit record have little to do with the plot, which is a rather dull account of a family of criminals in America who go around stealing tractors. It has a very good cast, but this counts for naught when the script is stuck in second gear, with lots of tough guy posturing going on but little in the way of action.Oh, there's a few shocks near the end, but by then it's too little too late and all the drinking, smoking and swearing we see fails to create the foreboding atmosphere the director is striving for. It's just a passable 100 minutes of macho fluff, with elements of parental tragedy tacked on. It may strive to be Shakespeare, but somehow I can't see anyone studying this as part of their Key Stage coursework. 5/10

Karen Anderson There is a lot of confusion about the movie being filmed in Penn., it is about a family from there. The movie is filmed entirely in Franklin and Spring Hill, Tennessee. I enjoyed the chords from Madonna's song "Live to Tell" being played off and on throughout the movie. It really added for dramatic effect considering towards the end of the movie Brad Jr. needed to "Live to Tell". As we all know, this movie is based on a true crime family: Bruce A. SR., Norman, and David Johnston (Johnston Brothers Gang.). Bruce Sr's son is Bruce Jr. AKA "Little Bruce" and his gang was known as the "Kiddie Gang" (with his half brother James Johnston and various friends). His girlfriend was Robin Miller and she was only 15 when she was shot in the neck and killed. Bruce Jr. was with her and survived 8 gunshot wounds but was able to testified 2 weeks later. This happened in the Chester-Lancaster County Penn. area. Bruce Jr. was in the witness protection program for a short time then got out. He has been in and out of prison. In 2/2013 he was arrested for selling meth. to a state trooper. His bond is one million dollars. Bruce Sr. died in 2002. This is an excellent movie - it could happen anywhere, anytime. It is not often that a movie follows the course of the true story but this one did - that is why endings weren't changed to make it happier, or scenes weren't rewritten etc... The actors in each part were perfect. Masterson brings about an innocence (if there can be one) that I can't imagine any other actress displaying in this roll. This is a must see movie - it could be a warning for those with bored teens.