Running on Empty

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Running on Empty

PG-13

1988

1h 56m

Drama

Crime

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

31 Reviews

69%

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10,000+ Ratings

Arthur Pope (Judd Hirsch) and his wife, Annie (Christine Lahti), are fugitives, perpetually on the run from federal authorities due to their antiwar activity during the 1960s. The couple moves around the country with their two sons -- young Harry (Jonas Abry) and his older teenage brother, Danny (River Phoenix). On the verge of adulthood, Danny longs to set out on his own and live a more stable life, but he knows this could mean permanent separation from his family.

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Critics Consensus

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

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Joe Pollack

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

05/25/2021

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

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Robin Givhan

Detroit Free Press

05/25/2021

5/10

Hirsch as a '60s radical is hard to swallow. He looks and moves more like a professor of American political history than someone who made history.

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Jay Carr

Boston Globe

05/25/2021

Its essential generosity is its most laudable aspect: its sympathy for the idealism of antiwar radicals seems like the real thing.

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Elizabeth Pincus

Gay Community News (Boston)

07/13/2022

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

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

06/21/2022

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]

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

04/07/2022

3.5/4

...completely compelling and entirely rewarding...

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Joshua M

@Flameon Mar 28

Family drama with great acting. River Phoenix and Martha Plimpton steal this one.

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John F

@RT84127024 Jan 12

Before One Battle After Another, there was Lumet's Running on Empty. River Phoenix is a gem.

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David F

@dfulmer Dec 24

Kind of an eccentric film about some ex-hippy fugitives on the run with their family. Politics and family troubles mix to make for a lot of conflict.

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Robert W

@RT34973803 Dec 24

Accidentally posted on the wrong movie

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Charlie S.

@CGS6793 Oct 8

Exceptional! River P. Is amazing.

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Goran G

@RT57685000 07/26/2024

River Phoenix and Christine Lahti my loves!

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Sidney Lumet

Director

Christine Lahti

Annie Pope

River Phoenix

Danny Pope

Judd Hirsch

Arthur Pope

Martha Plimpton

Lorna Phillips

Jonas Abry

Harry Pope

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84%

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Synopsis

Arthur Pope (Judd Hirsch) and his wife, Annie (Christine Lahti), are fugitives, perpetually on the run from federal authorities due to their antiwar activity during the 1960s. The couple moves around the country with their two sons -- young Harry (Jonas Abry) and his older teenage brother, Danny (River Phoenix). On the verge of adulthood, Danny longs to set out on his own and live a more stable life, but he knows this could mean permanent separation from his family.

Director: Sidney Lumet
Producer: Amy Robinson, Griffin Dunne
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Lorimar Film Entertainment
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Crime, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 9, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 14, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.8M
Runtime: 1h 56m
Sound Mix: Surround