MovieChat Forums > The Indian Runner (1991) Discussion > Sean Penn's best work?

Sean Penn's best work?

posted 13 years ago by WingsOfWax
14 replies | jump to latest

I am not an expert on Sean Penn, but I think that The Indian Runner is a great film with many beautiful scenes, and insight into a man on a course of self-destruction.

Especially the scene, where Viggo Mortensen is cuffed to the bar, and his brother enters, and says something to the effect of "you know what I have to do", Mortensen's character already knows and accepts, and the film cuts away just as the brother begins his beating of Mortensen's character.

I wouldn't call this a movie with a message, and that's actually its strength.
It's the subject matter that draws you in - nihilism vs. values, and how some people see the logic of values, but just can't live with them.

When I have seen other Sean Penn movies (not many) and interviews with him, I just can't understand how he could have written and directed this film. I haven't seen anything that remotely compares to the Indian Runner from Penn in quality.

[–] tallard 12 years ago

Damn, I can't believe I hadn't even heard of this film... How can that be??? Oh wait, 1990-91 I was volunteering in the third world and missed a great many films.

I am definitely putting this on my watchlist!

I really disliked both The Pledge and The Crossing Guard (even though I have loved the vast majority of Jack's films), but I loved Into the Wild, and these two actors are among my very favourite of that age group. This film appears to have been a clencher for their careers.

I can't wait to see this.

***So I've seen 4 movies/wk in theatre for a 1/4 century, call me crazy?**

[–] ibbi 12 years ago

I don't really think it is possible to compare his work as an actor to his work as a director, but I certainly prefer this film to his other directorial efforts. Not that they were bad, but this is just that good.

___
http://tinyurl.com/8xgqv7k

[–] pablo-taylor 12 years ago

I disagree; for me he's got better with each sucessive project, both The Indian Runner and The Crossing Guard are fascinating but semi-formed films; he grasped how to get good work out of his fellow actors early on but struggled to transform his thematic concerns into strong narratives and lacked an ear for natural dialogue, both movies also suffer from irritating visual flourishes that are clearly the mark of a dilettante ; The Pledge and especially Into the Wild are much more complete works IMO; I think he became a better director when he gave up on being a writer.

[–] eyebrowmorroco 12 years ago

1. The Crossing Guard
2. The Pledge
3. The Indian Runner

I see them as a loose trilogy. I would love to see him add to it with Mickey Rourke playing a broken man in search of his missing daughter, preferably on foreign soil. Penn could help Rourke win the Oscar he took from him in ’98.

[–] WingsOfWax 12 years ago

Watched Crossing Guard and The Pledge after reading your post. I have to say that The Crossing Guard was dissapointing, both in terms of direction and story. A long cry from T.I.R.

The Pledge was a lot better - the direction was great, although there was a lot of story crammed into the story. It was very obvious that Penn based this movie on a book, instead of writing it - The Crossing Guard (Penn's own writing) was just not that good.

So I am a bit confused when you put The Indian Runner at the bottom of your list. It clearly has the best direction and the best story, imho.

[–] eyebrowmorroco 12 years ago

Thematically, all three films are chained. The Indian Runner serves as the genesis of this grief/loss exploration. It’s the film where Penn has something to say... but he doesn’t quite know how to say it. It is the most confused of his films.

The Pledge is the most refined of the three. Penn has realised that his strength is not writing, so he directs something that is not too far removed from his voice. I felt the ending was particularly well-handled. And like you say - direction was great.

The Crossing Guard is the middle ground. It isn’t quite as raw as The Indian Runner, and it isn’t quite as skilfully put together as The Pledge. Here, there are certain sequences that highlight Sean Penn’s strengths as both director and writer. The open sequence over the Springsteen track where Nicholson is aesthetically advertised is great. The cathartic ending is another highpoint. Throughout the picture, he achieves a great balance between a man stuck in time, and time as the ultimate change agent.

[–] WingsOfWax 12 years ago

I agree that in terms of direction and cinematography, The Pledge is Penn's best work. As mentioned, its flaw is the way Penn tries to cram so much into the movie that it feels overdone at times. Still, better than TCG.

I still think that The Indian Runner is his best work overall. It has the deeper emotional impact.

The Crossing Guard wouldn't be worth watching if Nicholson wasn't in it. Even then, it's a mediocre movie, as far as I am concerned. And about linking the movies together - well, you can do that if you want to, but it doesn't really detract or add anything to any of his movies, imo.

[–] xxlwyc 11 years ago

the best one is "into the wild", but "the indian runner" is still great

[–] WingsOfWax 11 years ago

I finally got to see Into the Wild, and yeah, it is Penn's best work by far, at least from a technical viewpoint. The story makes the difference; plots have always been Penn's Achille's Heel. It's mostly well-paced which is saying a lot because it is a long-winded story.

That being said, The Indian Runner still has that certain something that makes it special. If I were to recommend something by Penn, I would say stick with Into the Wild and Indian Runner; one would only be dissapointed by his other movies after watching those two.

[–] gtrz 11 years ago

I'm not sure if it is his best since I haven't seen all of his works, but it (The Indian Runner) is a truly great film.

One minor correction to your post, it wasn't Joe that beat up Frank in the bar. It was the man that earlier was assaulted by Frank. Joe cuffed Frank to the bar and then allowed the man to get some measure of revenge on Frank.

[–] WingsOfWax 11 years ago

About the scene in the bar; I don't know why I thought it was the brother, perhaps because it would have made the scene so much more interesting. But yeah, of course it's the guy from the bar.

[–] kidd-simon 11 years ago

I'm actually watching The Indian Runner for the first time just now so cant really say if I like it or not.

As for his other work as director his best effort so far is Into The Wild without a doubt. As some posters have pointed out it benefited from having a clearer plot outline than his other stuff. The story also felt fresh and original.

The Crossing Guard felt sketchy and unsatisfying. The acting from Nicholson and Morse is fine but ultimately they don't have enough to work with.

The Pledge was a bit of a mess imo. It started off well but Penn did not have the chops at that point to keep things on track. It also felt a bit too indulgent at times with appearances from Mickey Rourke and Helen Mirren in small roles. Nicholson was fine but the whole felt less than the parts.

I went to see Into The Wild with no real expectations but was pleasantly surprised as it was terrific. Perhaps because he knew exactly what the end was going to be made it easier for him to make a better film. He had obviously learned from his previous work and mistakes.

I look forward to whatever he does next as director.

[–] BleekersPorkSword 11 years ago

Into the Wild and the Indian Runner...both masterpieces, amazing films!

Jim Carroll: Time sure flies when you're young and jerking off.

[–] Dan_Garten 8 years ago

Cool.