At Close Range - wikipedia At Close Range At Close Range Theatrical release poster Directed by James Foley Produced by Don Guest Elliott Lewitt Screenplay by Nicholas Kazan Story by Elliott Lewitt Nicholas Kazan Starring Sean Penn Christopher Walken Mary Stuart Masterson Crispin Glover Tracey Walter Christopher Penn Music by Patrick Leonard Cinematography Juan Ruiz Anchía Edited by Howard E. Smith Production company Hemdale Film Corporation Cinema ' 85 Distributed by Orion Pictures Release date April 18, 1986 ( 1986 - 04 - 18 ) Running time 111 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $6.5 million Box office $2.3 million At Close Range is a 1986 American crime drama film directed by James Foley, based on the real life rural Pennsylvania crime family led by Bruce Johnston Sr. which operated during the 1960s and 1970s. It stars Sean Penn and Christopher Walken, with Mary Stuart Masterson, Sean 's brother Chris Penn, David Strathairn, Crispin Glover, Kiefer Sutherland, and Eileen Ryan ( the Penns ' real - life mother ) in supporting roles. The film was critically acclaimed. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Filming 4 Reception 4.1 Critical reception 4.2 Box office 4.3 Awards 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Plot Brad Whitewood Sr. is the leader of an organized crime family. One night, his estranged oldest son, Brad Jr., contacts him after a fight with his mother 's boyfriend and stays with him at his home in Homeville, Pennsylvania. Eventually, he becomes involved with his father 's criminal activities, and starts a gang with his half - brother, Tommy. The boys attempt a daring heist, which results in their arrest. All of them are bailed out except Brad Jr. During Brad Jr. 's time in jail, another member of the gang receives a grand jury subpoena. Brad Sr. believes that they will inform on him, so he rapes Brad 's girlfriend, Terry, as a warning. Brad Sr. feels his only recourse is to eliminate every witness that can connect him with his sons and their gang. He kills Tommy himself and orders a hit against Brad Jr., who is seriously wounded, Terry is also killed. Brad Jr. threatens his father with a gun, intending to kill him, but decides that he wants Brad Sr. to `` die every day for the rest of his life, '' and instead testifies against him in court. His father is sentenced to life in prison. Cast Sean Penn as Bradford `` Brad '' Whitewood Jr. Christopher Walken as Bradford `` Brad '' Whitewood Sr. Mary Stuart Masterson as Terry Chris Penn as Thomas `` Tommy '' Whitewood Millie Perkins as Julie Eileen Ryan as Grandma Tracey Walter as Uncle Patch Whitewood R.D. Call as Dickie David Strathairn as Tony Pine J.C. Quinn as Boyd Candy Clark as Mary Sue Jake Dengel as Lester Kiefer Sutherland as Tim Crispin Glover as Lucas Stephen Geoffreys as Aggie Alan Autry as Ernie Noelle Parker as Jill Production Filming The movie, while depicting incidents in Chester County and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, was actually filmed on location in Franklin, Tennessee and Spring Hill, Tennessee. Reception Critical reception Roger Ebert praised the film, giving it 31⁄2 ( out of 4 ) stars. At Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a fresh score of 86 % approval rating based on 21 reviews from critics. Box office Despite the accolades and warm reviews, the film was not a box office success. It grossed a total of $2,347,000 at the North American box office during its theatrical run in 83 theaters, earning less than its production budget of $6.5 million. Awards Nominated Golden Bear, 36th Berlin International Film Festival. Winner ASCAP Film & Television Music Award -- Most Performed Song from Motion Picture ( `` Live to Tell '' ) ; awarded to performer Madonna Winner BMI Film & TV Award -- Most Performed Song from a Film ( `` Live to Tell '' ) ; awarded to composer Patrick Leonard Nominated Casting Society of America -- Best Casting in Feature Film ( Risa Bramon Garcia, Billy Hopkins ) See also List of American films of 1986 Bruce Johnston Sr. `` Live to Tell '' References Jump up ^ At Close Range at Box Office Mojo Jump up ^ `` At Close Range ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 16, 2015. Jump up ^ At Close Range Movie Review & Film Summary ( 1986 ) Roger Ebert Jump up ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/at_close_range/ Jump up ^ `` Berlinale : 1986 Programme ''. berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011 - 01 - 14. External links At Close Range on IMDb At Close Range at Rotten Tomatoes At Close Range at AllMovie hide Films directed by James Foley Reckless ( 1984 ) At Close Range ( 1986 ) Who 's That Girl ( 1987 ) After Dark, My Sweet ( 1990 ) Glengarry Glen Ross ( 1992 ) Two Bits ( 1995 ) Fear ( 1996 ) The Chamber ( 1996 ) The Corruptor ( 1999 ) Confidence ( 2003 ) Perfect Stranger ( 2007 ) Fifty Shades Darker ( 2017 ) Fifty Shades Freed ( 2018 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=At_Close_Range&oldid=841742591 '' Categories : 1986 films English - language films 1986 drama films 1986 crime drama films 1980s drama films 1980s films 1980s crime drama films American crime drama films American films American independent films Films about dysfunctional families Films based on actual events Films directed by James Foley Films set in Pennsylvania Films set in the 1970s Films about psychopaths Orion Pictures films True crime films Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Čeština Deutsch Español Français Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Português Suomi Svenska 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 17 May 2018, at 19 : 19. 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Question: what is the movie at close range about
Answer: the real life rural Pennsylvania crime family led by Bruce Johnston Sr. which operated during the 1960s and 1970s