The Crossing Guard

Name: The Crossing Guard
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: November 16, 1995
Duration: 111 min
Rating: 46
Cast: David Morse, Jack Nicholson

1995

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Ratings

See All

6.6

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6.6	Your Score
6.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

The Crossing Guard

Now Playing: The Crossing Guard

Movie Details & Credits

Miramax Films | Release Date: November 16, 1995 | R

Starring: David Morse, Jack Nicholson

Summary: The Crossing Guard is a suspenseful action thriller about one man's unquenchable thirst for revenge. For six agonizing years, Freddy Gale(Nicholson) has waited for John Booth(Morse), the man jailed for a crime that destroyed Freddy's life. Now, Booth is out of prison and Freddy is giving him three days before he returns to even the score.The Crossing Guard is a suspenseful action thriller about one man's unquenchable thirst for revenge. For six agonizing years, Freddy Gale(Nicholson) has waited for John Booth(Morse), the man jailed for a crime that destroyed Freddy's life. Now, Booth is out of prison and Freddy is giving him three days before he returns to even the score. (BV Entertainment)… Expand

Director: Sean Penn

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 111 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Janet Maslin

But Mr. Penn mostly keeps a tight, impassioned grip on this material, preventing it from wandering too far afield. The influence of John Cassavetes is again clear in the characters' emotional sparring, which has energy and heart. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff(not credited)

His emphasis on acting is welcome at a time when shallow, smirkingly self-referential performances threaten to become the Hollywood norm, but the film's slack pacing and narrative indiscipline undermine its intensity. Read full review

David Sterritt

Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston give mature performances as the bereaved parents, and David Morse brings an offbeat touch to the basically decent man who traumatized their lives. Read full review

Bruce Diones

But ultimately all that melancholy stifles the characters. Read full review

Empire Angie Errigo

Although there are some great moments (one for Nicholson recalling the toast scene of "Five Easy Pieces"), Penn's intentions lose their way. Read full review

David Rooney

Much of the film plays awkwardly, its tone veering undecidedly between volatile drama and contemplative psychological study. Read full review

Stanley Kauffmann

Penn's film is very slow, sententious, ill-judged about the tensions he wants in long scenes. [18 Dec 1995, Pg.28]

SEE ALL 18 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

Lanyard980

Aug 7, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Synopsis

The Crossing Guard is a suspenseful action thriller about one man's unquenchable thirst for revenge. For six agonizing years, Freddy Gale(Nicholson) has waited for John Booth(Morse), the man jailed for a crime that destroyed Freddy's life. Now, Booth is out of prison and Freddy is giving him three days before he returns to even the score.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

Libation70

Aug 4, 2021

♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤¡♤
》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》¡》

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

FilipeNeto

Apr 6, 2022

Honestly, I expected much more from this movie. It has good actors, it has a script with good dramatic premises and a promising story, in short, it could have been frankly better. It was a failure at the box office, it passed on the sidelines of the film careers of its main actors, and itHonestly, I expected much more from this movie. It has good actors, it has a script with good dramatic premises and a promising story, in short, it could have been frankly better. It was a failure at the box office, it passed on the sidelines of the film careers of its main actors, and it turned out to be better that way, being forgotten until the present.

The screenplay is almost entirely centered on the figure of a father devastated by the death of his daughter, who was accidentally run over by a drunk driver. A goldsmith by trade, he never overcame loss and grief never closed the wounds, leading to the end of his marriage and a life made of emotional, moral and psychological wreckage: occupying the time between his jewelry shop, strip clubs and occasional affairs. With prostitutes, he knows his life ended there. In this, the man who killed his daughter is released from prison, and he becomes obsessed with the idea of killing him.

So far, so good... despite the main character being acid and unpleasant, we understand the reason: he is an angry person, under enormous inner suffering. But the assassin is not much different! He is a visible and sincerely repentant person who, even so, does nothing to arouse our sympathy. Thus, we have two characters that, despite being essential to the whole story, are not able to reach the audience and generate some empathy. In addition to the bad conception of the characters, the film has an anti-climatic ending, with a boring and boring foot chase. A succession of clichés, preconceived ideas and forced messages.

I can't say that I liked the work of Jack Nicholson or David Morse. Both were given quite poor material and are never able to really show merit or value. Anjelica Huston appears little and is always in conflict. Technically, it's a banal film, without great reasons for interest. The cinematography fulfills its role, but the film is badly edited and has serious pacing problems, dragging tiringly until the end.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

SEE ALL 3 REVIEWS