It's rare an actor can make a successful transition
to writing/directing, but Sean Penn has done so without problem.
The Crossing Guard, which he both wrote and directed,
is wrought with the same intensity and power that categorizes
most of his performances, and has the look and feel of a film
done by an expert craftsman. It's a harrowing look at the impact
grief (or the lack thereof) can have on a life, and it contains
some of the most powerful performances of its notable cast's
history.
Jack Nicholson portrays Freddy Gale, a middle-aged
jeweler coping with the death of his young daughter Emily seven
years earlier. He and his wife Mary (Angelica Huston) have divorced,
and she has remarried, raising their two sons without Freddy's
presence. When the man responsible for Emily's death, John Booth
(David Morse), is released from prison, Freddy vows to kill
him, and their lives become intertwined in unimaginable ways.
All three leads are at the tops of their games, especially Morse,
who I've always admired as one of the foremost character actors
working today. His remorseful killer is the most sympathetic
of all the characters, and it's difficult to watch and not feel
the most for him as he teeters on the edge of being consumed
by his guilt and accepting the past and moving on with his new
love interest, played by Robin Wright [Penn.]
The film begins by showing the clear distinction
between Freddy and Mary, who are each dealing with their grief
in different ways: Mary attends regular grief support groups,
while Freddy boozes and womanizes at a sleazy strip joint. In
an early confrontation, when Freddy declares his plan for vengeance,
Mary accuses him of never having even gone to their daughter's
grave, which we discover to be true. Instead of accept her death
and move on as Mary has done, Freddy allows the loss to corrupt
him and transform itself into hatred toward Booth and an obsessive
need for revenge. His soul is overburdened by the weight of
these emotions, and he becomes a pitiful excuse for a man. As
he moves toward the final confrontation with Booth, when he
will murder his daughters killer, he is forced to come to terms
with his grief in unexpected and overwhelmingly powerful ways.
The film crescendos into a high-paced chase through the city
and ends in a beautiful and cathartic climax one won't soon
forget.
Penn has a distinct vision he executes nearly
flawlessly, both in the tight script and direction. From the
very onset, the film exudes an intense feeling of emotionally
charged urgency, which continues to and past the final shot,
into the closing credits. He perhaps overuses dramatic slow-motion,
lessening the effectiveness of the technique, but otherwise,
he has an instinctive knack for when to hold back and when to
let the actors and their emotions take over. He works very well
with all the performers, especially Nicholson, who he directed
again in the similar and equally powerful The Pledge
in 2001.
As I said before, I am usually skeptical of actor/directors,
but I firmly believe that Sean Penn has effectively proven himself
as an auteur capable of any role within the artistic process.
With his skillful direction and intelligent writing on The
Crossing Guard, he joins a small group of directors capable
of working successfully behind the camera (Clint Eastwood is
the most notable other) and leaves me eagerly awaiting his next
cinematic opus.
