Considering the quality of some of the films in his back catalogue, it is ironic that these days James Foley is best known for helming the 50 Shades sequels. Whilst not everything Foley has touched has been gold, it is safe to say these are the low points of his lengthy career. Still, directors need to pay the bills, and even as shit as those films are, they have their fans. Their success could also lead some viewers into looking up his filmography.
If they look as far back as 1986 they will be sure to find a bonafide classic with At Close Range (1986) which easily ranks as his finest work, Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) notwithstanding. Based on true events, At Close Range is as visually rich as it is emotional, focusing on the relationship between a career criminal and his sons.
Taking place in 1978, the film is based on the real life exploits of Bruce Johnston, Sr who was the head of a criminal outfit in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Here he is renamed to Brad Whitewood, Sr, played by an charismatically evil Christopher Walken. The film is told from the focal point of his son, Brad Jr (Sean penn) who begins to build up a relationship with his long absent father.
Enamoured by his father’s criminal lifestyle and his money, Brad Jr begins to grow closer to his father, even going so far to join him on his crimes. This is where the film begins to take a turn to the darker side of human nature, with Brad Jr getting to see who his father truly is. As the story progresses, it becomes quickly apparent that Brad Sr seems to be devoid of even the most basic human qualities, with a serious lack of empathy or compassion. Brad Sr is a man that would easily kill those closest to him as simply as he would swat a fly.
James Foley has gone on record as saying that At Close Range is one of the film’s he is most proud of. It is easy to understand why, as the film hardly sets a foot wrong, with beautifully realised performances, stunning visuals and a gripping plotline, it is easily one of the best crime dramas to come out of Hollywood during the 1980’s.
Screenwriter Nicolas Kazan reportedly wasn’t happy with the final film, feeling that it strayed too far from his original screenplay. Already unhappy by not being allowed on the set, he was further annoyed that Foley had decided to focus primarily on the relationship between Brad Sr & Jr with the side characters becoming secondary to the main plot.
I can understand Kazan’s disappointment and frustration, as it can’t be easy to see your work being altered. He and fellow writer/producer Elliott Lewitt even went so far as to petition with Orion pictures so they would be allowed to create their own cut of the film, with the hope that it would refocus the film more in line with their initial vision. Orion instead went against them, instead siding with Foley and Sean Penn.
Personally, I feel Orion made the right call. While it may not be the epic crime saga that Kazan and Lewitt were hoping for, Foley clearly recognised the heart of the film lay in the relationship between Brad Sr and Brad Jr. It would be different if the film was a failure, but Foley captures his audience from the start with the film slowly tightening its grip as the film reaches its climax.
Also, while the focus is on the two Brad’s, there is still a lot of time afforded to the supporting cast, with each of them being perfectly cast. Even the smallest, most minor roles make an impression, with many of the cast saying so much with just a few lines. It may be surprising to see the likes of Kiefer Sutherland and Crispin Glover in what seems insubstantial roles, but even they impact so much character into their performances, conveying what would normally be lines of dialogue into a simple look or expression. One particular scene towards the end of the film has a close up on Sutherland, with his face telling an entire story in itself. When there’s this much attention paid to such a small role, it’s not surprising how electric the lead performances are.
Preconceived notions of Sean Penn may influence how you think he will deliver his performance, but he is considerably subdued here, especially in comparison to some of his more recent movies. Brad Jr gives Penn an early opportunity to show how skillful a performer he can be. As subdued as he appears, his emotions are bubbling under the surface, with the latter parts of the film finally allowing him to go all in, with the confrontation between him and Walken being a masterwork in different acting styles.
In a long career of villains, this is possibly one of Walken’s darkest roles, and what makes it more so is that he doesn’t play him as a villain, well at least not from the beginning. As expected, Walken lights up the screen whenever he appears. He is almost seductive in how he plays Brad Sr, making it entirely plausible why people would be attracted to him and his lifestyle.
Initially, the audience has as much information on Brad Sr as his sons, with us learning about him at the same time as them. With an instant likeability, Walken is perfect casting as he can so easily slip into being a cold blooded villain, a man who wouldn’t think twice of killing his own family if they got in his way. Even when carrying out such despicable acts, Walken portrays Brad Sr as if he is completely justifiable in his acts, almost as if he is the wronged party. Even in his own twisted way, Brad Sr does show some affection to his sons, especially Penn’s Brad Jr, with Walken conveying this contradictory dynamic of his character beautifully.
To be honest, the entire film plays like a showcase for Walken and Penn, with it being almost impossible to decide who gives the better performance. At a push, if I had to decide I'd probably go with Penn. This is based more on his ensuing performances since the release of At Close Range, with his work here being more fresh and raw from what we have come to expect from the now veteran actor.
As mentioned, there are some notable supporting turns during the film, all of which add to the overall richness of the film, with the assortment of characters making the world the main characters inhabit seem lived in and real, which accompanied with the small town setting separates this film from other crime sagas of the period.
Mary Stuart Masterson is suitably naive, getting pulled into Brad Sr’s circle of crime and violence. She is put through the ringer during the film, with her quickly raising sympathy as her circumstances become more tragic. It is far removed from her turn in the decidedly lighter Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) a year later.
As mentioned, actors such as Kiefer Sutherland and Crispin Glover do a lot with little, but they aren’t the only ones. Stephen Geoffreys of Fright Night (1985) fame shows up as another of Brad Jr’s friends, injecting a lot of personality into his performance. Walter Hill regular R.D. Call just oozes menace as Dickie, with Foley using him to great effect during the film. Even though he may not get that many lines, he is still a stand out.
Then there’s the always terrific David Strathairn who plays Tony, another member of Brad Sr’s gang. With only a handful of lines he manages to stick in the mind. Interestingly Strathairn plays a secondary role as a shady FBI agent. The way Foley decides to shoot the scene, you may not even realise it’s the same actor.
Best of all is Eileen Ryan who plays Brad and Tommy’s grandmother. Like other members of the supporting cast, she does a lot with very little. Her character initially appears cold but as the film progresses you see this is more to do with living a hard life rather than not having any compassion. It’s clear she loves her grandson’s, which is shown beautifully in a later scene where she gives Brad Jr her saving’s so he can leave town. It is a subtle scene, and Foley smartly decides to keep it low key. Ryan’s chemistry with the two Penn brothers is probably down to being their real life mother, with her having an extensive acting catalogue herself.
The action is all beautifully captured by ace cinematographer Juan Ruiz Anchia. You wouldn’t expect such a small scale drama to have such a rich visual palette, but Anchi’s quality work is just another element that raises At Close Range above similar fare. This would be the first of several collaborations Anchia would have with Foley, with Anchia working on such Foley film’s as the aforementioned Glengarry Glen Ross, Two Bits (1995) and the extremely underrated The Corruptor (1999).
It would be remiss not to mention Patrick Leonard’s awesome soundtrack. It is the perfect accompaniment to the on screen action. Amazing, Leonard worked on the score for a completely different film, the forgettable Fire with Fire (1986). It is hard to think of it being used alongside anything other than At Close Range. Part of the success of the soundtrack is the inclusion of Madonna’s smash hit “Live to Tell”. An instrumental version of the song plays during the film, with Leonard including integrating it to best dramatic effect. It isn’t until the end credits we get to hear the full Madonna version of the song. Interestingly, her name appears massively on the credits before the cast. I can only think this was contractual.
Of course, Sean Penn’s acting career just rose from here, with him becoming one of the finest actors of his generation, earning two best actor Oscars as well as many other awards throughout his lengthy career. Sure, sometimes his private life and politics have overshadowed his work but you can’t take away the sheer talent he shows on screen.
Likewise, Christopher Walken still impresses to this day. Perhaps not afforded the same critical acclaim as Penn, Walken continues to be an iconic presence in films with him bringing his Walken-isms to the most mundane project. Only he could make something like Joe Dirt (2001) seem classy. Well almost classy.
Foley as already mentioned has had some turkey’s in his filmography. You can’t hold cash grabs like Perfect Stranger (2007) or 50 Shades Darker (2017) against him, especially when he has helmed crackers like At Close Range and Glengarry Glen Ross. Directors still need to put food on the table.
Even outside of his two best features, Foley still has some quality work in there. After Dark My Sweet (1990) is an extremely disturbing crime thriller, featuring Jason Patric in one of his most memorable roles.
Staying in psychological thriller territory, he later gave us Fear (1996) a film much better than it had any right to be. What initially seems like a silly teenage take on Fatal Attraction (1987), Is set apart by Foley getting a creepily menacing performance from a young Mark Wahlberg and perfectly ramping up the tension. As mentioned, I’m also a big fan of Foley’s action thriller The Corruptor, which re-teamed him with Wahlberg and gave Chow Yun Fat one of his best American vehicles.
Hopefully Foley still has it in him to give us another classic that can rank alongside At Close Range, something that will overshadow those 50 Shades film’s that he isn't proud of.
Rating: 4.5
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