Movie · 1988 · Drama, Romance, Crime · 1h 56m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 7.7/10 (60.6K ratings)
They chose their lives. Now their son must choose his.
Overview
The Popes are a family who haven't been able to use their real identity for years. In the late sixties, the parents set a weapons lab afire in an effort to hinder the government's Vietnam war campaign. Ever since then, the Popes have been on the run with the authorities never far behind. Their survival is threatened when their eldest son falls in love with a girl, and announces his wish to live his life on his own terms.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.7/10
IMDb: 7.6/10
Letterboxd: 4.01/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Metacritic: 67
TMDB: 7.4/10
Director
Sidney Lumet
Production
Double Play, Lorimar Film Entertainment
Cast
Christine Lahti, River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch, Jonas Abry, Martha Plimpton, Ed Crowley, L.M. Kit Carson, Steven Hill, Augusta Dabney, David Margulies, Lynne Thigpen, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Sloane Shelton, Justine Johnston, Herb Lovelle, Bobo Lewis, Ronnie Gilbert, Leila Danette, Michael Boatman, Jenny Lumet
Curator Review
Verdict
A moving, politically charged family drama with strong performances and a tender coming-of-age core. It blends fugitive tension with intimate domestic emotion, and River Phoenix gives it a quietly devastating center.
Best for
Viewers who like character-driven 1980s dramas
Fans of political family stories and moral dilemmas
Anyone drawn to sensitive coming-of-age performances
Audiences who appreciate understated, emotional filmmaking
Skip if
You want a fast-paced crime thriller
You prefer high-concept plotting over character study
You dislike bittersweet, low-key endings
You are not in the mood for family conflict mixed with political baggage
Overview
Sidney Lumet turns a fugitive premise into something far more delicate and human. The film is less interested in chase mechanics than in the emotional cost of living under an assumed identity, especially when children begin to want ordinary lives that their parents can no longer provide.
Worth noting
What gives the movie its lasting pull is the family dynamic: loving, tense, and shaped by sacrifice. River Phoenix is extraordinary as the son caught between loyalty and selfhood, and the film understands that growing up can feel like a quiet act of betrayal even in the safest circumstances.
Bottom line
There is also a strong sense of American political afterlife here, with the Vietnam era lingering like a wound that never fully closes. Lumet keeps the tone restrained, which makes the final emotional turns land harder than a more melodramatic approach would have.
Top Letterboxd reviews
ciara (4.5★) · 2510 likes
@god bring river back u fucking coward
aaron (4.5★) · 2004 likes
my problem with men is that they will never be river phoenix
#1 gizmo fan (5★) · 1140 likes
river phoenix best actor to ever live
benton tarantella (4★) · 1097 likes
imagine it’s 1988 and you’re listening to music in your bed and you come downstairs to find thee river phoenix playing the piano in your living room
kylie (5★) · 996 likes
i’m so affected by lorna saying she’s barefoot and danny giving her his converse
1991 · Comedy, Drama, Music · 1h 58m · R · Curator 7.5/10 (82.5K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus
Not thematically identical, but it shares the ensemble warmth and the feeling of young people seeking a life of their own.
Topics
1980s drama, family drama, political aftermath, coming-of-age, fugitive life, bittersweet, character study, indie-adjacent, moral conflict, quietly emotional