The Crossing Guard (1995)

A man (Jack Nicholson) whose life and marriage fell apart when his 7 year old daughter was killed by a hit and run driver (David Morse) has gone to seed. When the driver is released from prison after serving 5 years for manslaughter, the father plots his vengeance and plans to kill him. Written and directed by actor Sean Penn, there is a lot to admire in the film so it's a pity that Penn the writer isn't as strong as Penn the director. He has a nice visual sense (or maybe it's Vilmos Zsigmond, his cinematographer) and Nicholson gives a strong performance but Penn can't seem to find an ending that feels true and what we get is embarrassingly mawkish. Robin Wright's character is underwritten and seems to be there just to let us see another side of Morse's character as well as a scene where the incident that started it all is explained in detail. But in the long run, its assets outweigh its liabilities. With Anjelica Huston (in the film's best performance), Piper Laurie, John Savage, Priscilla Barnes, Richard Bradford and Robbie Robertson.