SPOILERS "At close range" ,in its first half is perhaps a bit monotonous ,but it hits its stride halfway through and then grabs you till the very end.
More than the directing ,which is conventional and not really stunning,it's the actors who walk away with all the credit.Watching Christopher Walken and Sean Penn playing together is just a joy.They work so well together because the chemistry is right:they could really be father and son in life.
Walken ,when he's at his best,gives the jitters ,and he is able to transcend the weakest script and the most banal directing:such is the case here ,and without a first-class acting like his (and his co-star's),"at close range" would have been average made-for-TV quality. He never overplays,as most of his peers often do:see for instance the terrifying murders scenes where his lines are so terse that it's a wonder he can mesmerize his audience like this.
Matching him every step of the way is Penn's sensational portrayal of the distraught son.His performance is subdued in the first half,then his final scenes are intense,recalling sometimes the best "actor studio method" scenes from the fifties/sixties.His last two scenes pack a real wallop:after his girlfriend's murder,his confrontation with Walken is one of these rare moments when acting reaches perfection;but he saves the best for the end and his short lines ,in the courtroom which he delivers as his voice falters under the pain,will leave you numb with shock.
The rest of the cast only serves as a foil to them.The leads are so strong that we almost forgot all of them when the movie's over.
More than the directing ,which is conventional and not really stunning,it's the actors who walk away with all the credit.Watching Christopher Walken and Sean Penn playing together is just a joy.They work so well together because the chemistry is right:they could really be father and son in life.
Walken ,when he's at his best,gives the jitters ,and he is able to transcend the weakest script and the most banal directing:such is the case here ,and without a first-class acting like his (and his co-star's),"at close range" would have been average made-for-TV quality. He never overplays,as most of his peers often do:see for instance the terrifying murders scenes where his lines are so terse that it's a wonder he can mesmerize his audience like this.
Matching him every step of the way is Penn's sensational portrayal of the distraught son.His performance is subdued in the first half,then his final scenes are intense,recalling sometimes the best "actor studio method" scenes from the fifties/sixties.His last two scenes pack a real wallop:after his girlfriend's murder,his confrontation with Walken is one of these rare moments when acting reaches perfection;but he saves the best for the end and his short lines ,in the courtroom which he delivers as his voice falters under the pain,will leave you numb with shock.
The rest of the cast only serves as a foil to them.The leads are so strong that we almost forgot all of them when the movie's over.