The Indian Runner (1991) on Netflix
In 1960s Nebraska, deputy sheriff Joe Roberts supports his wife Maria and their child. His brother Frank comes back from Vietnam and breaks into Joe's house, where Maria nearly shoots him.
- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb6.9/1010,482 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes72%
Trailer
Plot summary
Joe Roberts supports his wife Maria and their child on a deputy sheriff's pay in 1960s Nebraska, after the bank foreclosed on the property he tried to farm. On the job, a car chase ends with Joe shooting a man in self-defense, and members of his community respond with both praise and scorn. His younger brother Frank had run-ins with the law before Vietnam, and their father calls him plagued by restlessness. Frank comes back to town and breaks into Joe's house, and Maria nearly shoots him. He leaves the next day without stopping at their parents' home. Their father later tells Joe that Frank is in jail in another state, news he had kept quiet to avoid upsetting their mother.
Cast
- Enzo Rossias Raffael
- Harry Crewsas Mr. Baker
- Trevor Endicottas 12-Years-Old Joe Roberts
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Indian Runner (1991)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Sean Penn cut a long post-production scene in which Sandy Dennis had eight pages of dialogue, deciding The Indian Runner worked better if Viggo Mortensen's Frank was cold enough to avoid visiting his dying mother.
- While making the film, Sean Penn judged Viggo Mortensen's "inherent kindness" too visible for the role of Frank, so he had the actor work with a Hells Angels motorcycle club member the director knew to give him the needed edginess.
- The Indian Runner is the last film to feature Sandy Dennis, who died six months after it was released to cinemas.
- Sean Penn had David Morse and Viggo Mortensen rehearse their pivotal bar scene for two weeks, with the bar built in a gymnasium so the two actors could blow off steam by shooting baskets between rehearsals.
- Sean Penn cast Viggo Mortensen as Frank after spotting him in the film Fresh Horses, drawn to the actor's "angularity, a severity to his handsomeness," which Penn thought perfect for the part.
