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Poster for The Indian Runner

The Indian Runner

1991 · 2h 7m · R Drama
Directed by Sean Penn

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Overview

Two brothers cannot overcome their opposite perceptions of life. One brother sees and feels bad in everyone and everything, subsequently he is violent, antisocial and unable to appreciate or enjoy the good things which his brother desperately tries to point out to him.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
74%
Tomatometer
Fresh

Rambling, indulgent and joltingly raw at times, Sean Penn's first outing as a director takes a fair amount of patience to get through but has an integrity that intermittently serves it well.

Variety Staff, Variety
Rotten

Penn's first project as writer/director is a film out of time, drenched in an overbearing '60s world-view which veers between the dated and the dopey.

Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Fresh

Loose, rambling and sometimes rudderless as it is, "The Indian Runner" has a fundamental honesty that gives it real substance.

Janet Maslin, New York Times
Fresh

Penn surrounds his brothers with supporting characters who are so well-realized, I'll remember them as long as I remember the leads.

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Fresh

Penn is trying to get at gritty American ''truths'' about love, brutality, and blood ties. Somehow, though, it's all a bit pat: By now, even these stark themes have the ring of movie conventions.

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

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