THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 4, 1995 TAG: 9512020066
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
JACK NICHOLSON, in an unusually restrained performance, is a father who has crossed over into near insanity since the death of his 7-year-old daughter. She was run down by a drunken driver six years ago. The father waits patiently for the driver to get out of prison so he can kill the man.
``The Crossing Guard,'' written and directed by an obviously passionate Sean Penn, is often over-the-top in self-indulgence and obvious directorial tricks. No matter. Better too much than too little when it comes to a drama this raw.
Penn is out to show us just how devastating the death of a child can be. He has three fine performances to back him up. The film is so intense that it looks as if it might burst the seams in the screen.
Nicholson plays Freddy Gale, a man who has ruined his life because of his inability to adjust to the tragedy. Since he prefers to wallow in self-pity rather than try to start life anew, his wife, played by Nicholson's real-life former love Anjelica Huston, has left him.
In a confrontational scene between them, the heartbreak is evident. Audiences will think they see a reflection of real life.
Nicholson doesn't do his usual grin and laugh, the mannerisms that have become almost self-parody. Not since ``Five Easy Pieces'' has he given such a restrained performance.
Penn is, at least in this case, a better director than he is a writer. His characters have no subtlety. They know themselves remarkably well, and tell all. Perhaps people never talk like these overwrought beings in real life, but at least they are interesting.
The surprise performance here is that of David Morse (from TV's ``St. Elsewhere'') as the fresh-faced drunken driver. His grief and guilt are so palpable that he manages to suggest them with only a few lines.
Robin Wright, who was so good in ``Forrest Gump,'' has little to do as the artist who befriends Morse.
The surprising thing here is how restrained Nicholson is and how Morse is more than able to stand up to his performance.
After criticism at the Toronto Film Festival, the film was cut severely in running time (mostly, according to Penn, montages of strippers).
``The Crossing Guard,'' with a title that refers to safeguards that are meant to keep us emotionally safe, is an overwrought, excessive and highly mannered movie. Like it or not, you have to admit that it dares to take unusual chances.
Now that he's managed even to quiet Nicholson down, Penn is a director to watch. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
MOVIE REVIEW
``The Crossing Guard''
Cast: Jack Nicholson, David Morse, Anjelica Huston, Robin Wright
Director and Writer: Sean Penn
Music: Jack Nitzche
MPAA rating: R (language, nudity)
Mal's rating: 3 stars
Location: Lynnhaven in Virginia Beach
by CNB