Running on Empty (1988 film)

Plot

Parents Annie and Arthur Pope are on the run as they were responsible for the anti-war protest bombing of a napalm laboratory in 1971. The incident accidentally blinded and paralyzed a janitor who was not supposed to be there. They have been on the run ever since, relying on an underground network of supporters who help them financially. At the time of the incident, their son Danny was two years old. As the film begins, he is in his late teens, and the family, now with younger son Harry, are again relocating and assuming new identities.

Danny's overwhelming talent as a pianist catches the attention of his music teacher Mr. Phillips at school. The teacher begins to pry into Danny's personal life, particularly questioning why records from his previous school are unobtainable. While he pushes Danny to audition for Juilliard, Danny also falls in love with Lorna, the teacher's teenage daughter.

As the pressure to have his own life and realize his own dreams intensifies, Danny reveals his family secret to Lorna. Meanwhile, Annie finds out about Danny's audition and begins to come to terms with the fact that she must let her son go and find his own way. This does not sit well with Arthur even as Annie risks their safety to contact her estranged father and arrange a home and life for Danny if they should decide to leave him behind.

When Arthur hears on the radio that one of their underground colleagues has been shot and killed running from the authorities, he realizes that it is better for his son to pursue his dreams than to continue living a dangerous life on the run from crimes for which Danny bears no responsibility. The family leaves Danny behind and heads off for their next identity in a new town.

Cast

• River Phoenix as Danny Pope
• Christine Lahti as Annie Pope
• Judd Hirsch as Arthur Pope
• Jonas Abry as Harry Pope
• Martha Plimpton as Lorna Phillips
• Ed Crowley as Mr. Phillips (Lorna's father)
• Steven Hill as Donald Patterson (Annie's father)
• Augusta Dabney as Abigail Patterson (Annie's mother)
• L. M. Kit Carson as Gus Winant
• David Margulies as Dr. Jonah Reiff
• Lynne Thigpen as Contact at Eldridge St.
• Marcia Jean Kurtz as School Clerk
• Sloane Shelton as Mrs. Phillips (Lorna's mother)

Real-life inspirations

''Politico'''s Jeffrey Ressner writes that Arthur and Annie Pope were loosely modeled after Weather Underground leaders Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn. John Simon states that the characters' bombing of a napalm research facility was inspired by the Sterling Hall bombing of 1970.

Reception

Box office

Running on Empty was released on September 9, 1988, in 22 theaters, where it grossed $215,157 on its opening weekend. It went on to make $2,835,116 in North America.

Critical reception

Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and called it "one of the best films of the year". In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote, "The courtship between Danny and Lorna is staged especially disarmingly, with Mr. Phoenix and Miss Plimpton conveying a sweet, serious and believably gradual attraction." Newsweek magazine's David Ansen wrote, "A curious mix of soap opera and social history, Lumet's film shouldn't work, yet its fusion of oddly matched parts proves emotionally overpowering. You have to be pretty tough to resist it."

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 81% based on reviews from 31 critics. Metacritic gave the film a score of 67 based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

The Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa cited this movie as one of his 100 favorite films.

Accolades

References

References

1. "AFI|Catalog".
2. Ressner, Jeffrey. (2008-10-06). "Ayers script hopes to gain from Obama". [[Politico]].
3. Simon, John. (2005). "Seven Types of Exiguity". Applause Theatre & Cinema Books.
4. "Running on Empty".
5. Ebert, Roger. (September 23, 1988). "Running on Empty". [[Chicago Sun-Times]].
6. Maslin, Janet. (September 9, 1988). "Running on Empty, A Family Underground". The New York Times.
7. Ansen, David. (October 3, 1988). "A Crazy, Imprudent '60s".
8. "Running on Empty". [[Rotten Tomatoes]].
9. "Running on Empty Reviews".
10. (January 12, 2021). "From Stanley Kubrick to Martin Scorsese: Akira Kurosawa once named his top 100 favourite films of all time".
11. "The 61st Academy Awards (1989) Nominees and Winners".
12. (January 29, 1989). "Golden Globes Honor 'Working Girl', 'War' Series". [[Los Angeles Times]].
13. (12 December 1988). "L.A. Film Critics Vote Lahti, Hanks, 'Dorrit' Winners". Los Angeles Times.
14. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083539/http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/past.cfm?year=1988 "Awards for 1988"]. ''National Board of Review of Motion Pictures''.
15. "PEN Center USA: Winners".
16. "President's Message". Young Artist Awards.