The Crossing Guard . Tucson Weekly . 12-07-95

The Crossing Guard

DIRECTED BY: Sean Penn

REVIEWED: 12-07-95

Sean Penn's second venture as a filmmaker is an uneven, family drama fraught with gratuitous tension. Jack Nicholson and Angelica Houston play a divorced couple whose daughter has been killed by a drunk driver. Nicholson is a rageaholic overwhelmed by his dark side, and when the drunk who killed his child gets out of jail, he decides his mission in life is to murder him. There are some good performances here (especially David Morse as the reformed drunk driver), but a contrived script and constant emotional intensity sap all the believability out of it. And, like a lot of filmmakers who try to deal with large themes, Penn flirts with pretentiousness.

--Stacey Richter

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The Crossing Guard

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