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IN COUNTRY (1989) |
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MORGAN'S RATING |
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| In Country is both an exploration of post-war syndrome and a coming-of-age film. Emmet Smith, a Vietnam Veteran cannot free himself of the nightmare he lived overseas; he lives with his niece, Samantha Hughes a recent high-school graduate, in a rundown old shack in the hills of Kentucky. Emmett's emotional scars run so deep that neither he nor his veteran buddies can escape from the past. As a result, he allows Samantha to lead a rather reckless life. She too is touched by the war: her father was killed before she was born and her mother has built a new and separate life for herself. Samantha's progression into adulthood begins as she learns the truth about her parents' relationship and the atrocities her father may have committed during the war. |
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| Bruce Willis (Emmett Smith), Emily Lloyd (Samantha Hughes), Joan Allen (Irene), Kevin Anderson (Lonnie), John Terry (Tom), Peggy Rea (Mamaw), Judith Ivey (Anita), Dan Jenkins (Dwayne), Stephen Tobolowsky (Pete), Jim Beaver (Earl Smith), Richard Hamilton (Grampaw), Heidi Swedberg (Dawn), Ken Jenkins (Jim Holly), Jonathan Hogan (Larry), Patricia Richardson (Cindy), Kimberly Faith Jones (Donna), Don Young (Speaker), Joe Ross (Principal), Mark Sawyer-Dailey (Drug Store Manager), Linda Kinard (Drug Store Cashier), W.G. Harvey (Reverend), Rebecca Reynolds (Nurse), Erin Hendley (Irene's Baby), Tyler Cote (Donna's Baby), Gena Colley (Marlene), Belinda Coatley (Belinda), Hazel Elliott (Volunteer), Walter Spann (Hotshot), Terry Draper (Soldier), Steve Frogue, James E. Gaines, Rod Hightower, Greg Smothers (Soldiers). |
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THE STORY OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY. |
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FACTS |
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PRODUCTION INFORMATION |
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RELEASE DATE: September 15th, 1989 (USA)
BOX OFFICE OPENING: $36,505 (USA)
BOX OFFICE RESULT: $3.5 million (USA)
- The veterans in the dance sequence are all actual Vietnam veterans, and their real family members accompany them.
- Of the five major characters who are Vietnam veterans, only one, Earl, is played by an actual Vietnam veteran, Jim Beaver.
- Ken Jenkins, who plays Jim Holly, is the father of Dan Jenkins, who plays Sam's father in the Vietnam flashbacks. Their casting in the film was purely coincidental. |
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DIRECTOR: Norman Jewison (F.I.S.T.).
WRITERS: Cynthia Cidre and Frank Pierson, and based on the novel by Bobbie Ann Mason.
PRODUCERS: Norman Jewison and Richard A. Roth.
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: Michael Jewison.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Charles Mulvehill.
ORIGINAL MUSIC: James Horner.
DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. |
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CRITICAL COMMENTS |
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"Disappointing, poorly executed film...Willis is good as a cynical, shell-shocked recluse, but script, is flawed: character relationships are uneven, and too many questions are left unanswered." -- Leonard Maltin |
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