The Crossing Guard (1995)

Any film featuring Jack Nicholson is worth a look. So too Robin Wright. Add Angelica Huston and how can a film go wrong? And for quite a ways into the film, The Crossing Guard definitely holds the viewer's attention. Nicholson is fine as the grief-stricken father who knows only one way to assuage his grief and that is with violence. David Morse plays against type; there is a softness to his portrayal, a quality I had not seen in his more recent appearances. Robin Wright plays what might be the most interesting of characters, the woman sympathetic to her lover's situation, but unwilling to live with his sorrow.The story, in quite a subtle way, keeps the viewer shifting his / her sympathy between two of the main characters (played by St. Elsewhere's David Morse, and Nicholson); I was never certain about for whom to root. But in the final third of the movie, a definite moral tone takes over; the film became, for me, a message movie. It's earlier edginess is lost.

The film opens with a rather strange juxtaposition of two scenes. One features a group of grieving parents discussing how they have dealt with the loss of their children. The other features a topless stripper playing with fire. The Crossing Guard at its heart is how people deal with grief differently and the consequences those choices have for all. Some parents would prefer to pour their heart out. Others choose more destructive outlets, like patronize strip clubs. Jack Nicholson, the father of a girl killed by a drunk driver, spends some of his nights at strip clubs, while Anjelica Huston, the mother of that girl and Nicholson's ex-wife, spends time listening to those grief stricken parents pouring their hearts out. Like that opening juxtaposition the film's points are hit with all the nuance of a sledgehammer pounding in a nail.Therefore, little attention is paid to how Huston's character attempts to come to terms with the death of her child; instead, the focus is on how Nicholson destructively grieves for his daughter. Of course he wants revenge. And of course this quest for revenge, the film tells us, doesn't solve anything but only further eats away at him.Nicholson, who still seems to be in Joker mode from his stint in that role in the Batman franchise, is as over the top as one might expect. The character he's saddled with is a difficult one to play to be sure, but Nicholson makes his character so over bearing and indignant that his presence soon becomes toxic. Instead of exploring his character's inner grief and psychology the film would rather just show his temper tantrums. David Morse, as the drunk driver who killed Nicholson's daughter, is, by contrast, and surprisingly, shown as some kind of repentant saint. He knows what he did, feels terrible about it, and tries to communicate it to an obstinate Nicholson. But in general Morse isn't given much to do other than stare into space stoically. Huston, however, it must be said is quite good even if the film doesn't really care about her and only utilizes her to show how crazy Nicholson's character has become.The middle part of the film, where Nicholson parties with some strippers (including Three's Company's Priscilla Barnes) and Morse's character meets up with some bohemians, is a total bore. Another subplot of Morse falling in love with Robin Wright Penn adds nothing to the plot other than act as filler so the film can reach the standard 120 minute run time. Finally, the closing sequence of the film, which includes a chase (or in Nicholson's case a fast walk) through LA and ends with a kumbaya moment in a graveyard as the sun is slowly rising and the tedious score swelling, is totally ridiculous. What's most disappointing here is that at its core The Crossing Guard could have been a good film. Sean Penn has directed other fine films (especially Into the Wild) and Nicholson, at least prior to the '90s, is a first-rate actor. But totally lacking nuance in performance and story and weighed down by a miserable second half and a hokey conclusion renders this film instead largely a failure.

I have to take exception to what seems the be the majority view that this is an excellent film. The whole thing is contrived and phony. Throughout, there are innumerable points in the action where people do things and behave in ways completely contrary to what real people would do. The dialogue, too, is contrived. And one could have asked some more subtlety. As it is, it is clear from the get go that the vengeful father is the "bad" guy and the repentant killer is the "good" guy. Things are rarely so black and white. There is one scene further on in the film where Nicholson's character, in a conversation with his ex-wife, portrays some genuine grief and pain, but his portrayal up to that point completely belies that. And the many observations by viewers about the excessive and gratuitous nudity are on the mark. The completely contrived and unbelievable ending brings to mind Oscar Wilde's quote that "one would have to have a heart of stone not to dissolve into tears ...of laughter." Sean Penn should stick to his day job of acting and stay away from writing and directing.

I really don't understand why this movie didn't go further. I'm really missing the point of view of the negative voters and commenters. They all seem so harsh and cold. This movie should be FLOODED with emotional viewers and reviewers! Penn proved his chops as both writer and director here. You don't get these actors doing such a great job without great writing and directing, no matter who they are. You have to get the movie as a vehicle for the last minute of the film. You have to give the movie enough time-rope and attention-rope to let it hang you at the end. This is a punchline movie and you have to be the kind of person who is willing to be punched. You have to not get captured in Freddy's negativity. It's part of the setup. His lifestyle, part of the setup. Booth's flatness of affect, part of the setup. Just sit back, register it, allow yourself to be set up by it. Give it the time the movie deserves And let yourself get sweetly punched and redeemed at the end.I once had a friend who said they Hated Pulp Fiction. Near the end of the pawnshop scene she was cheering "get him, kill him" After, she said she hated it. She got SO involved with the movie and the characterizations that the hated to be so manipulated. She loved the movie, but she didn't know it.