MOVIE · 1988

Running on Empty

CrimeDramaFamilyRomance116 min

The Popes have spent years changing names and towns after setting fire to a weapons lab during the Vietnam War era left them fugitives. Christine Lahti and Judd Hirsch are the parents keeping the family moving and invisible, always aware that the authorities are close behind. But River Phoenix's eldest son is reaching an age where borrowed identities and sudden departures no longer feel sustainable. In New Jersey, a gifted pianist finds himself pulled toward a different future, especially after meeting a local girl, with Martha Plimpton bringing a grounded presence to the romance that complicates the family's carefully controlled life.