Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

End of the Line is a rather unusual and charming film starring Wlford Brimley and Levon Helm. There are other stars, including (the DVD cover tells you rather forcefully) Kevin Bacon and Mary Steenburgen, with Holly Hunter in there as well, but in reality they all have rather insignificant roles in the film. The whole thing hinges on Brimley and Helm – thankfully, they’re more than up to the job.

The film is about a sleepy town that relies very heavily on Southland, a rail freight company, for employment. Almost every male of working age has his job there. One day news comes through that the depot is going to be closed down, doing the unthinkable and moving into the air freight business. The workers decide that the only thing to be done about this is to go and speak to the Chairman of Southland and try to change his mind. Well, actually only two of the older members of staff – Will Haney (Brimley) and Leo Picket (Helm) – actually have the courage and determination to make the trip, so only they go. They “borrow” one of Southlands’ locomotives to get there. After an eventful trip they meet, not the Chairman, but the President of Southland (played by Bob Balaban), who has his own reasons for not letting them speak to the Chairman himself (who is his father-in-law). A battle of wits ensues, and there are no prizes for guessing the eventual outcome – though how it actually comes about will probably surprise you.

Positives

There is plenty to like about the film, particularly the wonderful performances by old-timers Brimley and Picket, and (when he as the Chairman does eventually get into the picture) Henderson Forsythe. Bob Balaban also gives a convincing performance as the thoroughly dislikeable Southland’s President, Warren Gerber (even his name sounds unpleasant!). There is a gentle yet irreverent humour pervading throughout, and a great soundtrack featuring mainly country music, which was very appropriate to the setting and style of the film.

Negatives

The main problem with this film is that it is very slow, which sometimes becomes a problem. Usually the humour and likeability of the characters overcomes this, but there are times that the film really does drag a bit and this stops it from getting 5 stars. Also there is quite a bit of bad language, nothing as bad as the F word though.

If you’re an action freak avoid this, if on the other hand you enjoyed Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World despite it’s slowness, you’ll also enjoy this.

Other Details

Written and Directed by Jay Russell (John Wohlbruck also on the writing credits)
Music by Andy Summers (lead guitarist in The Police band – you know, the one with Sting as the singer – see his website: http://www.andysummers.com/)
Mary Steenburgen was also Executive Producer for this film
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year of release: 1988
Rating: PG

DVD Details

Apart from Chapter selection, which hardly counts, there are no special features on this DVD.

As with most cheap DVDs the picture quality admittedly isn’t all that great, though not particularly grainy, and the sound was clear with no problems.


Availability

I got my copy for £2.50 at Morrisons in the bargain bin. Second hand it’s going for about £1.50 on average, so assuming you can find this, you won’t be paying a bucket-load for it.



Related Actor Links

Kevin Bacon - Tremors

Bob Balaban - Gosford Park


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD