The Crossing Guard

Freddy Gale has spent years waiting for the man who killed his daughter to leave prison. John Booth was drunk behind the wheel when Emily Gale died, and once his sentence ends he returns to his parents with no idea that Freddy has been preparing for this moment. Freddy's marriage to Mary has fallen apart and his relationship with his sons is strained, leaving him isolated and consumed by the plan he has kept alive since the loss. When he finally tells Mary what he intends to do, she wants no part of it.

Sean Penn directed and wrote the film, which was released in 1995 and runs 111 minutes. It was his second turn in the director's chair, coming before the features that followed it. Jack Nicholson leads as Freddy, with David Morse as Booth, Anjelica Huston as Mary, Robin Wright as Jojo, Piper Laurie as Helen Booth and Richard Bradford as Stuart Booth among a credited cast of 38. Miramax produced the film on a budget of nine million dollars.

Audience response was moderate: on IMDb it holds 6.3 out of 10 from about 15,000 votes, and on TMDB 6 out of 10 from fewer than 300 votes. A critics' rating of 6.5 out of 10 from 29 reviews places it slightly above both audience scores.