Five Corners (1987)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Tony Bill

Writer:

John Patrick Shanley (writer)

Release Date:

11 September 1987 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Friends last forever. Goodness is its own reward. ...And there ain't no Indians in the Bronx.

Plot:

Young psychotic man returns to neighborhood after release from prison. He seeks young lady he previously tried to rape and young man who protected her...

Plot Keywords:

Psychopath | Penguin | Stalking | Pacifist | Independent Film

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Jodie Foster	...	Linda
Tim Robbins	...	Harry
Todd Graff	...	Jamie
John Turturro	...	Heinz
Michael R. Howard	...	Murray
Pierre Epstein	...	George
Jery Hewitt	...	Mr. Glascow
Rodney Harvey	...	Castro
Daniel Jenkins	...	Willie
Elizabeth Berridge	...	Melanie
Cathryn de Prume	...	Brita
Carl Capotorto	...	Sal
Jose Soto Jr.	...	Boy in Pet Store
Kathleen Chalfant	...	Mrs. Fitzgerald
John Seitz	...	Sullivan

Also Known As:

5 Corners (USA) (video box title)

Runtime:

90 min | Canada:95 min (Ontario)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | South Korea:18 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Cineplex-Odeon Films

Trivia:

The theme music was "In My Life" as performed by The Beatles. One of the producers of this project was George Harrison.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Set in 1964, when Linda talks on her home phone with Heinz, the phone handset is clearly seen to have a modular plug connection to its cord. The now-popular modular plugs were not introduced until much later in the 70's.

Quotes:

Heinz: ...and what he is going to do tonight?
Mrs. Sabantino: He is... he is going to die.
Heinz: Thank you mama, thank you.
[He carries her in his arms, and then throws her out of the window]

Soundtrack:

The Times They Are A-Changin'

elements that don't mesh, like a square peg in a five-cornered hole

Turturro plays a brutal psycho released from prison, and Foster plays the woman in peril. Neither is really pressed hard here, therefore.

Robbins plays a guy who protected Foster before, but who is volunteering to go south to help the rights of blacks in the south, being inspired by Martin Luther King (this being a period drama). Foster also has a boyfriend who was crippled by Turturro when she was attacked.

Turturro has a weird gift for Foster, and there's a teacher who inexplicably gets shot by an arrow. Meanwhile, there's a pair of guys who are paid to look after two glue-sniffing. And there's a pair of cops and so on...

A strange drama with moments of comedy that don't really fit in comfortably. Seems more like an awkward play awkwardly made into a film.