At Close Range

**At Close Range** is a 1986 American neo-noir crime drama film directed by James Foley.

The film was released on April 18, 1986 by Orion Pictures.

It is based on the real-life crime family from rural Pennsylvania led by Bruce Johnston Sr. which operated during the 1960s and 1970s.

## Plot

Brad Whitewood Jr. (Sean Penn) and his brother, Tommy (Chris Penn) are reunited with their father, Brad Sr. (Christopher Walken), who is an organized crime leader. The brothers become intrigued with their father's criminal lifestyle; however, when they create their own gang and wind up getting arrested for attempted robbery, they discover that their father will do whatever it takes to make sure that he is not incarcerated.

## Cast

* Sean Penn as Brad Whitewood Jr.
* Christopher Walken as Brad Whitewood Sr.
* Mary Stuart Masterson as Terry
* Chris Penn as 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

## Crew

**Directors**

* Director: James Foley
* First assistant director: Richard J. Kidney
* Second assistant director: Frank Capra III
* Second second assistant director: Margaret Krueger
* Director of photography: Juan Ruiz Anchia
* Assistant art director: Chuck Roseberry

**Writers**

* Story by: Elliott Lewitt and Nicholas Kazan
* Screenplay by: Nicholas Kazan

**Producers**

* Producers: Don Guest and Elliott Lewitt
* Executive producers: John Daly and Derek Gibson

**Music**

* Music by: Patrick Leonard
* Music supervisor: Budd Carr
* Music editor: Ken Johnson
* Music recording engineer: Michael Mason and Robby Weaver
* Co-music editor: Daniel J. Johnson (uncredited)

**Editing**

* Film editing: Howard E. Smith
* Assistant editor: Donn Aron
* Post-production coordinator: Jo Barnett
* Color timer: Bob Hagan
* Negative cutter: Vivian Hengsteler
* Apprentice editor: Steven Shainberg and F. Scott Taylor

**Casting**

* Casting by: Risa Bramon Garcia and Billy Hopkins
* Casting assistant (Los Angeles): Danielle Eskinazi
* Casting assistant (Tennessee): Darilyn Stringer

**Location management**

* Location manager: Joan Neal
* Assistant location manager: Lita Harvey
* Location scout: Eddie Rehfeldt (uncredited)

**Costumes and design**

* Production design by: Peter Jamison
* Set decoration by: R. Chris Westlund
* Costumes by: Hilary Rosenfeld
* Wardrobe assistant: Gayle M. Kennedy
* Wardrobe supervisor: Eileen Sieff Stroup
* Costume design consultant: Cynthia Turnbull
* Set designer: Mark Ragland

**Makeup**

* Hair stylist: Leslie Ann Anderson
* Makeup artist: Richard Arrington
* Assistant make-up artist: Mary Beth Felts and Cheri Greenwood (uncredited)

**Production management**

* Unit production manager: Don Guest

**Art department**

* Property master: Tom Allen
* Assistant propery master: Jem Cohen
* Swing gang: Randy Bennett
* Lead person: Pebble Daniel

**Sound department**

* Sound recordist: David Brownlow
* ADR editor: Gail Clark
* Supervising sound editor: Ron Clark
* Re-recording mixer: David J. Hudson, Mel Metcalfe and Tom Ruff (uncredited)
* Boom operator: Jack Nietzsche Jr.
* Post-production sound mixer: Tom Ruff (uncredited)

**Special effects**

* Adams Calvert
* Special effects coordinator: Burt Dalton
* Special effects assistant: Mike Weesner

**Stunts**

* Paul McKenna Jr.
* Fred T. McLaughlin
* Stunt coordinator/stunts: Chuck Waters
* Stunt driver (uncredited): Chris Nielsen

**Camera and Electrical Department**

* Grip: Steve Anderson, Jim Harrington, Don Simandl and Cody Harrington (uncredited)
* Key grip: John R. Hernandez
* Dolly grip: Stephen Lubbe
* Best boy grip: J. Edgar
* Electrician: Robert Bruce, Mark E. Moore, Michael Papadpolous and Randy Whiteland
* Assistant electrician: Clint Argo
* First assistant camera: Bernard Auroux
* Gaffer: Stefan Czpasky
* Second assistant camera: Vance Piper
* Still photographer: Joyce Rudolph
* Camera operator ("B" camera): Jeff Wolf

**Transportation**

* Transportation captain: Charles Renfroe
* Transportation coordinator: David Dodson
* Transportation co-captain: David Dodson
* Driver: Jack Hager, Larry M. Jackson, Jack Lawrence, Jackie Newell, James Newell, John Christian Nielsen, Daniel Quick, Randall Quick, Chris Summerell, Fred Timmons and Anthony Werthan

**Script and Continuity Department**

* Script supervisor: Kerry Lyn McKissick

**Additional Crew**

* Motion picture banking: Frans J. Afman
* Production accountant: Jo Barnett
* Assistant accountant: Dell Fagan
* Wrangler: Ron Bledsoe and Jack Lawrence
* Production assistant/production assistant (Los Angeles): J.C. Bennett
* Production assistant: Kurt Klaus, Tony Kunewalder, Pliny Porter, Katherine Sanford, Paul McKenna Jr., Lech Slockinski and Michael Talarico (uncredited)
* Production assistant (Los Angeles): Eva Giera
* Production associate: June Petersen
* Production secretary: Martha Moore
* First aid: Marianne Graham
* Legal services: Alan Grodin
* Insurance: Bob Jellen
* Production coordinator: Katy Haber
* Production executive: Graham Henderson
* Consultant (Graphics): Michael Hodgson
* Caterer: Carla Holland, Danny Wonnacott and Joseph Wonnacott
* Craft service: Warren Oliver
* Assistant craft service: Jonathan Locke
* Dog handler: Gary Forkum
* Dispatcher: Sandy Myers
* Unit publicist: Katherine A. Moore
* Travel arrangements: Trudy Salven
* Funding source (uncredited): Bill Luckey
* Assistant (Sean Penn): Meeghan Ochs
* Double\Stand-in (Sean Penn): Shane Kerwin
* Physical development trainer (Sean Penn): Ray Kybartas
* Assistant (James Foley): Bridget Oram

## Production

Filming for "A Close Range" took place in 1985 in Franklin and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

The role of Brad Whitewood, Sr. was originally offered to Robert De Niro, but he turned it down because he felt that the character was too dark. It was ultimately given to Sean Penn.

Eileen Ryan (who played Brad Jr. and Tommy's grandmother) is the real-life mother of Sean and Chris Penn.

## Box Office

On Rotten Tomatoes, "At Close Range" grossed $2,347,000 on an estimated budget of $6,500,000.

## Critical Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, "At Close Range" has an approval rating of 87% based on 23 reviews with an average score of 7.2\10. It also holds a score of 67 out of 100 on Metacritic from 9 appraisals, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times said: *"Because this film is violent and cruel and very sad, why would you want to see it? For a couple of reasons, perhaps. One might be to watch two great actors, Penn and Walken, at the top of their forms in roles that give them a lot to work with. Another might be to witness some of the dynamics of a criminal society, some of the forces that push criminals further than they intend to go."*

Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune said: *"At Close Range is impeccably photographed, and its other technical credits are fine, too. But this excellence serves a dubious, confused cause, and on that basis the film cannot be recommended."*

TV Guide Magazine described the film as *"relentlessly grim", adding that it* "offers a frightening glimpse at the dark side of American life and poses disturbing questions about family ties."

Variety magazine wrote: *"Audiences will respond to the very strong performances of the two leads, especially [Christopher] Walken in one of his best roles."*

The New York Times said: *"At Close Range is never boring. There's something bold about the film's wealth of imagery, but it also so overstates the material of the screenplay that it eventually annihilates both it and the story, which might possibly have been moving and terrifying. This just looks like fancy movie making."*

Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Sheila Benson said: *"If ever a movie needed a modest, straight-ahead style to its telling, it's this one. And while James Foley's direction (and strong, iconoclastic casting) has resulted in a handful of indelible performances, he can't get out of his own way when it comes to how he tells his story."*

Newsweek wrote: *"The acting is first-rate American realism: gutsy, funny and scary as the occasion demands."*

## Awards

**Berlin International Film Festival** (1986)

* Golden Berlin Bear award: James Foley (*Nominated*)

**ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards** (1987)

* Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures: Madonna (for "Live to Tell") (**Winner**)

**BMI Film & TV Awards** (1987)

* Most Performed Song from a Film: Patrick Leonard (for "Live to Tell") (**Winner**)

**Casting Society of America** (1987)

* Best Casting for Feature Film (Drama): Risa Bramon Garcia and Billy Hopkins (*Nominated*)