Synopsis

Freddy Gale has spent years consumed by the death of his young daughter, killed by a drunk driver. When the driver is released from prison, Freddy sets out to carry out the revenge he has promised himself. Their confrontation gradually becomes a painful examination of grief, guilt, rage, and the possibility that neither man can remain trapped in the past.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film closes with a dedication to writer and poet Henry Charles Bukowski Jr., a close friend of Sean Penn.

• Editor Jay Cassidy recalled that Jack Nicholson was allowed to make editing decisions for two weeks without Penn present, reflecting Nicholson's own filmmaking experience.

• The score by Jack Nitzsche was his last for a feature film. He died five years later after suffering a stroke.

• The Crossing Guard was the final film to bring Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston together. Their earlier films included One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Last Tycoon, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Prizzi's Honor.