Running On Empty (1988) ****1/2

There is such an honesty, genuineness, and vulnerability to Running On Empty (1988). The characters are so well-drawn, the acting is superb, and it all feels so natural and real. There is a sadness and weepy quality to many scenes but there is also a wonderfully subtle humor. The teenage romance between (real life partners at the time) River Phoenix and Martha Plimpton is beautifully touching. I love this movie (which I only saw for the first time a year ago) so much that I don’t even mind that all the main characters sing along to a James Taylor song. Sidney Lumet was such a marvelous director and he made dramatic art like nobody else.

Sidney Lumet Feature Films Ranked

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