At Close Range (1986) - Indie rural neo-noir film featuring Sean and Chris Penn as brothers who decide to join their mobster dad played by Christopher Walken stealing farm equipment in the Pennsylvania countryside.
[*At Close Range*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At\_Close\_Range) is an independent rural neo-noir film directed by James Foley on a screenplay by Nicholas Kazan, who based it on the actual events of the [notorious Johnston gang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce\_Johnston\_(criminal)) in the Amish countryside of southeastern Pennsylvania.
The Johnston gang, founded and led by Bruce Johnston Sr., operated primarily out of Chester County. They also committed crimes in neighboring Lancaster County and crossed state lines into Maryland and Delaware. They primarily focused in the theft of jewelry, cash, farm equipment and lawnmowers, sports equipment, and antiques and automobiles from country estates that they would sell for profit.
In the late 1970s, the gang committed several murders whose victims included Jimmy Johnston, one of two sons of Bruce Sr., and Robin Miller, the girlfriend of Bruce's other son, Bruce Jr. The gang was rounded up in 1978 when Bruce Jr. testified against his father and his associates in court.
A newspaper article on the story made its way to film producer Elliott Lewitt, who was attracted to the complicated relationships between the family and the descent into violence in a bucolic American town. Lewitt partnered with Nicholas Kazan to adapt the story into a screenplay, and Kazan sought to capture the negative forces that tore the family apart. Foley recieved word of Kazan's script in 1980, and was eager to make the film a reality.
The film would change the name of the family to the Whitewoods, with the father, Big Brad, played by Christopher Walken. Sean Penn and his younger brother Christopher were cast as Little Brad and Tommy, the sons of Walken's character. Mary Stuart Masterson was cast as Terry, the tragic love interest of Little Brad.
Sean Penn had gotten in contact with the script through musician Bruce Springsteen, who had been approached by producer Elliott Lewitt to provide music for the film. Penn had been engaged to one of Springsteen's sisters at the time.
The overall story of the Johnston's gang's crimes stealing farm equipment, and the story's Amish Pennsylvania setting would remain the same.
The film was shot entirely on location in the state of Tennessee during the summer of 1985 in the cities of Franklin and Spring Hill, located south of Nashville.
In short, if you want to see one of the best performances by Walken and Penn, this film is for you. Walken captures the essence of evil almost perfectly and Penn's portrayal as a young son getting into something he doesn't understand the shear amount of evil is behind is incredible. Legit one of the most tragic films I've watched.
[Additional information on the film's production and referenced material provided by the AFI](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57257-AT-CLOSERANGE?sid=3946adc6-ef7a-424b-8009-acf0b6cb96f4&sr=11.438162&cp=1&pos=0).