Robert Chipman
Welcome to this column dedicated to my appreciation of physical media supplements called Feature Presentations. The goal of this column is not to say whether a film is good or bad and worth picking up or not — I would like to highlight the discs that go the extra mile and provide film fans with enough tasty tidbits to satisfy even the hungriest of cinephiles. Today’s article will focus on The Crossing Guard from the “After Dark: Neo-Noir Cinema Collection Three” collection via Imprint Films.
I never have or will claim to be an expert in reviewing the technical specs of a physical media release. There are plenty of knowledgeable people in this realm of commenting on the audio and video aspects of a disc with better setups than I’ll ever own. This column, Feature Presentations, is a way of highlighting the supplemental material within a given disc. With all that out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff and dive into my review of this Blu-ray release of The Crossing Guard.
As a disclaimer of transparency for this episode of Feature Presentations, my review of The Crossing Guard comes from a review copy that Imprint Films provided for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The DVD era of physical media was; if I can borrow from Martin Scorsese, peak cinema. I may have rose-colored glasses on, but it seemed like you could go to any brick-and-mortar store and find almost any film, and more often than not, might have a disc with a handful of features. Any movie you might be searching for or haven’t heard of was there for the taking at an affordable price. And I, entering my 20s during this time, was all too willing to fork over my hard-earned cash. One of these films that found its way into my physical media collection was Sean Penn‘s 1995 drama, The Crossing Guard.
As a kid, I used to watch the TV program, Siskel & Ebert, in part to catch what the prominent critics thought of films I was interested in seeing but also to hear about movies I may not give a second thought. Where I grew up, small independent films usually bypassed me, so the only way to stay in the know was to hear the thoughts of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. One episode that stuck with me premiered in late 1995, where they reviewed Sean Penn‘s The Crossing Guard. And even though their reviews necessitated “two thumbs down,” the Jack Nicholson-led drama always stuck with me.
Fast forward to the early 2000s, I’m browsing one of my local stores, and what do I see, the same slice of cinema that I saw on Siskel & Ebert a few years prior. I picked it up, flipped over the back, and saw that the disc also came with a cast and crew commentary track. “Holy hell,” I thought, “would Jack Nicholson be offering his two cents on this indie film?” Silly me, not knowing at the time that Jack Nicholson rarely does interviews, let alone sit for a commentary, but my still developing brain didn’t put this together.
When I finally got home and popped the disc in, my initial reaction was that it wasn’t the film I expected. Instead of a revenge thriller, The Crossing Guard plays almost like a meditative take on redemption and the power of forgiveness. Needless to say, it wasn’t what I expected, and I believe that played into my negative initial feelings about the movie. When I heard that The Crossing Guard would appear in the latest “After Dark” collection, I was excited to revisit it
Telling a tale of redemption through parallel lives, Sean Penn‘s The Crossing Guard finds Freddy Gale (Jack Nicholson) as a lost soul due to the death of his child at the hands of drunk driver John Booth (David Morse). After Booth’s release from prison, Gale decides to enact the ultimate form of revenge on Booth by murdering the man who took his daughter. Unable to initially kill the man, Booth asks for three days to savor freedom and to ensure Gale wants to end Booth’s life. It’s these 72 hours that Gale and Booth need to come to grips with their situations and find a way to untangle their intertwined lives.
On a second watch of The Crossing Guard, knowing what I was in for, it played better, but it still didn’t feel like I missed the boat the first time. It’s a quirky film with some unusual choices made by the director and a very “Jack Nicholson” lead performance when something more subdued might have gone further. Thankfully, Morse’s John Booth carries the film as he takes what could have been a showy, over-the-top performance and sneakily steals every one of his scenes. It’s an understated welcome balance to the sometimes bombastic take Nicholson gives Freddy Gale.
The Blu-ray disc comes loaded with features beginning with a newly recorded audio commentary with film writer Travis Woods. Woods has been a favorite commentary contributor of mine, and this track continues the trend of entertaining and engaging chats. While I’m not as big of a champion that Woods is about The Crossing Guard, his enthusiasm for the film creates a dialogue that covers not only the production but also analyzes and dissects his opinion on the production team’s decisions and deep-dives into the meaning and offers his interpretations on the finished product. I may not have agreed with every assessment that Woods offers, nonetheless, it’s a worthwhile track and makes for a solid listen.
The previously-mentioned audio commentary from the DVD release featuring director Sean Penn, actors Anjelica Huston and David Morse, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, production designer Michael Haller, and playwright David Ray is ported to this release. Each contributor is cut together from separate discussions and is a solid track, especially considering it’s almost 30 years old at the time of this writing. The participants are brought in during proper portions of the film so that most comments align with the action on screen. Penn dominates most of the track and talks about his processes as a director and his approach to the film’s thematic material. Morse offers the more intriguing insights as he takes us into his mind and the method he brought to John Booth.
The archival cast/crew commentary track has plenty of fascinating bits from Anjelica Huston discussing how her and Jack Nicholson’s prior relationship helped her approach her role, Nicholson asking Penn to reference an altercation in his personal life for the fight at the club, and Michael Haller finding most of Los Angeles boring. There’s too much to name here, but it’s wonderful hearing from such an array of talent and archiving the comments of Vilmos Zsigmond and Michael Haller, as they are no longer with us.
“Purging Vulnerability” is a recently recorded video interview with writer/director Sean Penn. At times, Penn has had a somewhat turbulent relationship with Hollywood, so to see that Imprint Films was able to sit down with him and have a conversation about The Crossing Guard is one of this collection’s high points! The almost 19-minute interview features the writer and director discussing his influences, stories from behind the scenes, and personal thoughts on the movie. Penn discusses how the John Cassavetes film, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, served as inspiration, how Jack Nicholson stepped in as a replacement, and a pull-no-punches telling of his dealings with Harvey Weinstein. Having Sean Penn sit and discuss his film was a welcome treat and an amazing get by Imprint Films!
Actor David Morse sat and chatted about his character John Booth with “Tough Character in a Tough World.” There is a soft kindness that radiates off many of the characters that David Morse plays, and you see where that comes from in this interview. Morse is soft-spoken but has plenty to say during this 20-minute interview. He speaks highly of writer/director Sean Penn; and how the director respected Morse’s work and gave him a shot on The Indian Runner when no one else would. Morse returns to the topic of Cassavetes that Penn discussed in “Purging Vulnerability,” and the development of the character John Booth. “Tough Character in a Tough World” is another excellent, Imprint Films exclusive interview.
Actor Priscilla Barnes dishes on her life and The Crossing Guard with the next interview, “Emotionally Exposed.” The 16-minute interview has Barnes talking about her breakthrough in acting with Three’s Company and how the obscure 1988 film Traxx caught the attention of Sean Penn’s eye and earmarking her for a role in The Crossing Guard. “Emotionally Exposed” offers insight into a “working person’s actor” life through Hollywood, with Barnes discussing her acting insecurities, presumptions of Penn’s thoughts on her stripping, and Jack Nicholson helping her through the first day of shooting. Against “Tough Character in a Tough World” and “Purging Vulnerability,” “Emotionally Exposed” offers a different and unique angle from which to perceive the production of The Crossing Guard and is a solid chat with the actor.
“Changing Ways” is a nine-minute interview with editor Jay Cassidy. As The Crossing Guard plays with editing intricately, I was interested in what Cassidy had to say. I will not say I was disappointed with this chat, but at nine minutes, it left me wanting more. Cassidy talks about collaborating with the director through his filmography, beginning with his debut film, The Indian Runner, before transitioning into his work on The Crossing Guard. The editor gets into the transition between editing techniques occurring during the film’s production and how that allowed him and Penn to cut and shape the movie quickly. The interview gets somewhat technical, even if Cassidy uses analogies to explain the differences between the old and new ways; I only wish more time with the editor to get more of the nuances and understanding of the complexities of this change in editing style. As it stands, it’s a fine, if brief chat.
Kat Ellinger offers the final bit of newly-created supplemental material with the video essay “Rebels Without Causes: Images of Masculinity in Sean Penn’s The Crossing Guard.” Ellinger pops up on many disc releases with video essays and commentaries, and you can usually expect someone who brings their A-game. And she continues that trend with The Crossing Guard. The author begins by exploring the transition of male roles of those found in film noirs of the ’40s and ’50s through the updated males of post-Vietnam and cinema grounding these cynical characters in gritty realism, through the Reagan years of mainstream underdogs and into the ’90s independent movie boom that heralded in Quentin Tarantino. Using Tarantino, she draws a parallel between his works and the nuanced ideas that Penn brings to The Crossing Guard. In Tarantino’s hands, a film like The Crossing Guard probably would not have the understated delivery and methodical plotting that Penn employs. A lot of what Ellinger states is good stuff and even if she hits on points that I feel are weaknesses of The Crossing Guard, such as the women are insignificant to the plot, it’s a terrific essay and a welcome inclusion on the disc.
A brief EPK featurette created to drum up interest for the film’s theatrical release is included on the disc. Wedged between clips from the finished film, you get a few quick soundbites from Sean Penn, David Morse, and Anjelica Huston. There’s nothing earth-shattering, and considering Penn, Morse, and Huston can be found on other extras on the Blu-ray, you’ll watch this once and never revisit it.
Closing out the disc is the film’s theatrical trailer.
And there you have it! The Crossing Guard is a film I’m glad to have given a second chance. It’s a decent, intriguing curio of a bygone era. Movies like The Crossing Guard, whether you like the film or not, are rare in today’s moviegoing scene. Seeing the film get a second life, finding its way onto the “After Dark Collection Three” set, and Imprint Films supplying the movie with a boatload of well-informed features including most impressively, a sit-down with Sean Penn, makes The Crossing Guard one of the surprise releases of this box set!
