Plot summary: Freddy Gale (Jack Nicholson) has waited six years to exact revenge on the drunk driver who killed his daughter. Upon John Booth’s (David Morse) release from prison, Gale vows to kill him. The film follows the lives of Gale and Booth over the course of three days as the execution deadline approaches.
Warning: Spoilers below!
Liked:
- I thought Anjelica Huston was great–if underused–as the ex-wife. Her scenes with Freddy were poignant, and revealed more about his backstory, pain, and suffering than all the scenes of him drinking and whoring combined.
- The film clocks in at right around 90 minutes, which made me very appreciative of the days when this was the norm instead of the bloated running times we usually get now.
Disliked:
- Jack Nicholson just didn’t seem right in this role. I usually like him and his performances, but something was off here (I just can’t quite put my finger on it).
- The ending — with Gale and Booth holding hands and sobbing over Emily’s grave — was sooo corny and ridiculous!!! I have to believe that the only reason this scene was allowed to stand is that Penn, as both writer and director, seemed to have complete creative control over this film.
- I found it thoroughly unbelievable that a good-looking woman like Jojo (Robin Wright) would fall for a scuzzy ex-con like Booth at first sight. They were a completely mismatched couple on so many levels.
- It made zero sense that Gale would give Booth three extra days to live after the first failed attempt. That was clearly just a (not very subtle) plot device to drag the story out into a full-length film.
Rating:
I was wondering why I’d never heard of The Crossing Guard before, despite the fact that Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston were in it. I guess the answer is that the film just wasn’t very good. From an implausible and unfocused script to questionable casting and a contrived ending, the movie simply does not reflect the talent of the people involved. I give it 2 stars out of 5.
