by Dan Tabor
Every small town has its dark secrets, but not every town has a film made about them.
At Close Range hits Blu-ray this week thanks to Twilight Time and focuses on one of the most notorious gangs in the history of Pennsylvania, the Johnston gang. The gang led by Bruce Johnston, Sr. (Brad Whitewood, Sr. in the film, played by Christopher Walken) was known for trafficking drugs, tractors, antiques; basically anything that could be turned for a profit. The gang operated from the rural base of Chester County, which given its location in southern Pennsylvania allowed them to also branch out into Lancaster County, Maryland, and even Delaware, where they operated for almost 18 years until the events of the film took place.
The film focuses on Brad Whitewood, Jr. (Sean Penn), who reconnects with his estranged father (Walken) after a fight with his mother’s boyfriend. Spending some time with his father Brad Jr. glimpses a way out of his impoverished small town lifestyle and decides he wants to not only win his old man’s approval but also follow in his footsteps, which is something he finds he has to earn. After forming his own gang and pulling a few successful jobs he is eventually brought in only to witness a murder, which changes the young man’s romanticized view of his father and sends him back out on his own.
When Brad Jr. is apprehended in a botched job, his father’s biggest fear is that his son will turn state’s evidence in a case currently building against him. It’s that blood bond that binds the family that also tears it apart as Brad Sr. will do anything to keep from going to jail. At Close Range is a story that is even more chilling when you know its based on actual events.
The story is only amplified by an amazing ensemble consisting of not only Sean Penn and Christopher Walken but Mary Stuart Masterson, Chris Penn, Kiefer Sutherland, and Crispin Glover, who breathe life into these very flawed characters who are just looking for a way out. Penn is definitely in his prime here; that said only someone like Christopher Walken could play opposite him and hold his own on screen. Walken really does something special with a role that might have been wasted on a lesser actor, bringing a real menace and complexity that really pushes Penn even farther to compete with his perfomance.
While I have seen the film dozens of times on VHS and cable I have never seen the film look this good. The stunning transfer on the Blu-ray really highlights the amazing cinematography by Juan Ruiz Anchía, who like director James Foley would later go on and work with Penn’s wife at the time Madonna, who contributed “Live to Tell” to the film. The song functions both as an Ending Credit Song and a haunting theme that runs throughout the film. You can witness the effectiveness of this approach to scoring if you watch the film with the isolated score track included on the disc.
The disc also comes with a booklet with an essay about the film and a commentary by director James Foley, which seems to gravitate more to production aspects of the film. This is probably due to the fact the project was brought to Foley by Penn, who picked the director after his debut Reckless. That is my only issue with the set since I would have loved to hear why Penn picked the material and what was it about this story spoke to him enough to have it produced.
Having grown up in Chester County, At Close Range was our story. It was a film that echoed the darkness and struggle that lie just beneath the surface in our small farming community. It was a rite of passage and when I worked in a video store, it was a film that was constantly stolen. I think we honestly went through a dozen or so copies until it eventually went out of print. So it’s great to see this severely underrated film get the respect it deserves in this limited edition release from Twilight Time that will hopefully allow more film fans to discover this dark look at the American dream.