The Indian Runner

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The Indian Runner

R,

1991,

2h 6m,

Drama

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Watchlist

81%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

80%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

16 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

After getting into trouble with the law, violence-prone Frank Roberts (Viggo Mortensen) seeks help from his brother Joe (David Morse), an even-tempered policeman. Frank hopes to start fresh, and his brother has faith that he can do it. So Joe agrees to let Frank stay -- despite the admonitions of his wife, Maria (Valeria Golino), who would rather not have Frank in the house. And though he performs well at first, Frank's inner turmoil eventually erupts, creating chaos in their once tranquil home.

Variety Staff

Variety

Mar 26, 2009

Rambling, indulgent and joltingly raw at times, Sean Penn's first outing as a director takes a fair amount of patience to get through but has an integrity that intermittently serves it well.

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Feb 9, 2006

Penn's first project as writer/director is a film out of time, drenched in an overbearing '60s world-view which veers between the dated and the dopey.

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Janet Maslin

New York Times

May 20, 2003

3.5/5

Loose, rambling and sometimes rudderless as it is, "The Indian Runner" has a fundamental honesty that gives it real substance.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Apr 29, 2011

C+

The film is slow and pretentious, but it's a feature debut and Sean Penn, a distinguished actor, is good with his cast.

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Oct 5, 2006

4/5

Muscular if overwrought drama with great performances.

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Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

Nov 10, 2005

3/5

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Sean Penn

Director

David Morse

Joe Roberts

Viggo Mortensen

Frank Roberts

Valeria Golino

Maria

Patricia Arquette

Dorothy

Charles Bronson

Mr. Roberts

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Synopsis

After getting into trouble with the law, violence-prone Frank Roberts (Viggo Mortensen) seeks help from his brother Joe (David Morse), an even-tempered policeman. Frank hopes to start fresh, and his brother has faith that he can do it. So Joe agrees to let Frank stay -- despite the admonitions of his wife, Maria (Valeria Golino), who would rather not have Frank in the house. And though he performs well at first, Frank's inner turmoil eventually erupts, creating chaos in their once tranquil home.

Director: Sean Penn
Producer: Sean Penn, Don Phillips
Screenwriter: Sean Penn
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 20, 1991, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $152.9K
Runtime: 2h 6m
Sound Mix: Surround

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