True story of a man in search of his children after his ex-wife enters the Witness Protection Program.
Acting
Caan's restrained desperation—no heroics, just exhaustion and refusal.
Direction
First-timer's eye: flat, institutional compositions that suffocate.
Production
Buffalo locations so authentically grim they deserve co-writing credit.
Director
James Caan
James Caan
Thomas Hacklin, Jr.
Jill Eikenberry
Alisa Hacklin
Robert Viharo
Jack Scolese
Joe Grifasi
Matty Stanek
Kenneth McMillan
Sam Marzetta
Josef Sommer
Jason R. Reid
Danny Aiello
Sal Carvello
David Clennon
Richard Fieldston
Thomas Hill
Bobby Momisa
Chuck Hicks
Frankie Irish
Peter Maloney
Lee McHugh
David Margulies
Detective Reilly
Alice Drummond
Mrs. Novack
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on the real case of Buffalo salesman Thomas Leonhard, whose 1979 lawsuit against the government failed—Caan found the story in a newspaper and optioned it himself.
Released months after Caan's career-defining turn in Thief, this was his attempt to pivot behind the camera—a move so commercially disastrous it helped kill 70s auteurist actor-director dreams for a decade.
US
