Running on Empty | Full Movie | Movies Anywhere

Name: Running on Empty
Released: 1988-9-9
Cast: Christine Lahti, River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch, Martha Plimpton, Jonas Abry

Running on Empty

PG-13
1h 53m
1988

81%

PRICING SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Confirm current pricing with applicable retailer. All transactions subject to applicable license terms and conditions.

The '60s are past, and the Vietnam War they struggled against is long over, but the Popes have been on the run from the FBI for fifteen years--choosing to live as family of fugitives rather than be separated. Now 17-year-old musical prodigy Danny Pope must decide whether to accept a scholarship to Julliard or deny his talent to remain with his family... as his mother did for him.

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Producer:

Amy Robinson, Griffin Dunne, Naomi Foner

Writer:

Naomi Foner

Cast:

Christine Lahti, River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch, Martha Plimpton, Jonas Abry, L.M. Kit Carson, Ed Crowley, Steven Hill

Rotten Tomatoes® Score

TOMATOMETER®

81%

Critics Consensus: Running on Empty largely skims past its political themes, but River Phoenix's performance helps anchor the story's generational conflict.

Reviews

Gay Community News (Boston)

Elizabeth Pincus

Running on Empty is as earnest as they come, delving with ostensible sincerity into the spirit, if not the substance, of the ’60s.

July 13, 2022

FULL REVIEW

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Rene Jordan

The ambivalent hypocrisy of [Running on Empty] would make it intolerable if not for an astute Lumet who shifts focus to turn it onto a conflict of loyalty with the eldest son. [Full review in Spanish]

...completely compelling and entirely rewarding...

April 7, 2022

FULL REVIEW

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Joe Pollack

"Running on Empty" is a brilliant movie, a gripping story that works on many levels.

May 25, 2021

FULL REVIEW