Brad Whitewood Jr. lives in rural Pennsylvania and has few prospects. Against his mother's wishes, he seeks out his estranged father, the head of a gang of thieves in a nearby town. Though his new girlfriend supports his criminal ambitions, Brad Jr. soon learns that his father is a dangerous man. Inspired by the real events that led to the end of the Johnston Gang, who operated in the northeastern United States in the 1970s.
Acting
Walken at his most genuinely terrifying, Penn devastatingly vulnerable.
Direction
Foley's restraint makes the violence land like a gut punch.
Cinematography
Bleached-out Pennsylvania skies that feel like a prison.
Director
James Foley
Sean Penn
Bradford 'Brad' Whitewood Jr.
Christopher Walken
Bradford 'Brad' Whitewood Sr.
Mary Stuart Masterson
Terry
Chris Penn
Thomas 'Tommy' Whitewood
Millie Perkins
Julie
Eileen Ryan
Grandma
Tracey Walter
Uncle Patch Whitewood
David Strathairn
Tony Pine
J.C. Quinn
Boyd
Candy Clark
Mary Sue
Jake Dengel
Lester Perowski
Kiefer Sutherland
Tim
Stephen Geoffreys
Aggie
Crispin Glover
Lucas
Noelle Parker
Jill
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sean Penn and Chris Penn are real brothers playing brothers; their mother Eileen Ryan plays Grandma. Walken reportedly stayed in character between takes, which made lunch awkward.
The Johnston Gang terrorized Pennsylvania's Amish-adjacent communities for years; their 1978 arrest barely made national news because, as one detective noted, 'they were stealing from poor people.'
US
