Running on Empty

What’s the Story?

A 1970s protest bombing made his parents fugitives, but after a decade and a half, Danny Pope is tired of running. Arthur and Annie Pope (Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti) run from the past, namely from their part in the 1971 activist bombing of a napalm lab that the FBI is hot to nail them for. Their elder son, Danny (River Phoenix), who's been part of their fugitive life since age 2, doesn't want to run anymore. He wants to quit changing schools, his name, the color of his hair. He wants to go to college and study the piano. He's told he has great promise. Danny's also in love with his music teacher's daughter, Lorna (Martha Plimpton) and can't bear to think of their inevitable separation. His parents sympathize, but to cut him loose is to risk never seeing him again, or at best to see him only rarely, through risky secret meetings. The choice is too agonizing for Danny to make on his own.

Is It Any Good?

RUNNING ON EMPTY starts off pretty slow, but once you accept the characters and their particular situation, the movie starts coming fully to life, wrapping itself around your heart and squeezing. Hard. Sure they're fleeing the law, but the Popes do it cleverly, peacefully, and ultimately with their lads' best interests in mind. The performances are good and the story a compelling and original one, but the characters take a while to warm up to. Sydney Lumet's tale of a boy who must choose between his family and a life of his own builds slowly to something passionate, admirable, and refreshingly original.

The film's greatest strength comes from the thoroughly believable relationship between Danny and Lorna. Phoenix was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Danny. All of the FBI and activism stuff is just frosting and rosettes; these two are the real cake of the movie. College-bound teens will identify with Danny, a strong central character who, on a grander scale, is experiencing something we all go through in the course of growing up: making life-changing decisions.