The Indian Runner (1991)

	Directed by: Sean Penn	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama NORSK TITTEL The Indian Runner – Blodsbrødre SPILLETID 125 minutter
	Produced by: David Merrick
	Written by: Sean Penn

Rolleliste:
Karakter	Skuespiller	Vurdering
Joe Roberts	David Morse
Frank Roberts	Viggo Mortensen	½
Maria	Valeria Golino	½
Dorothy	Patrcia Arquette	½
Father	Charles Bronson	½
Mother	Sandy Dennis
Caesar	Dennis Hopper	½
Lady at carwash	Kathy Jensen	½
Miguel	Benicio Del Toro

Review

David Morse and Viggo Mortensen play two brothers in 1960s small-town Nebraska – the former a responsible family man working on the local police force and caring for their elderly parents; the latter a drifter and petty criminal unwilling to accept the conventional confines of society. Sean Penn’s 1991 directorial debut is a moody and atmospheric piece about recognisable issues. The director includes several lingering lyrical passages that you might think would become vapid, but that instead work as wonderful mood setters and dramatic intensifiers. Despite the slow pace and the introspective storytelling, Penn strikes a nerve and uncovers truths in his seemingly ordinary characters and milieus. There are also compelling, powerful performances: Viggo Mortensen channels the young Marlon Brando with his Frank, who is a logical successor to Stanley Kowalski in many ways: the passion, the darkness, the unpredictability. The character's hamartia may be familiar, but Penn and Mortensen revitalize it and make it emphatically felt. Morse oozes a lidded forcefulness as the guilt-stricken brother, and Patricia Arquette is brazenly authentic as Frank's kittenish girlfriend. There's also a classy, introspective performance from Charles Bronson – perhaps his very best – in what would be his penultimate role.