''Miles from Home'' is a 1988 American action thriller film starring

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

and Kevin Anderson. It is about two brothers who, after being forced off their farm in the debt stricken

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

, become folk heroes when they begin robbing the banks that have been foreclosing on farmers. The movie was directed by

Gary Sinise Gary Alan Sinise (; born March 17, 1955) is an American actor, humanitarian, and musician. Among other awards, he has won a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also received a sta ...

and written by

Chris Gerolmo Chris Gerolmo is a Golden Globe nominated screenwriter, director, and singer-songwriter best known for writing the screenplay for the multi-Academy Award nominated film ''Mississippi Burning'' and the less successful ''Miles from Home'' starrin ...

. The film uses many members of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on ...

of which Sinise is a co-founder. The film was filmed entirely on location throughout the state of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, including

Worthington, Iowa Worthington is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States. The population was 382 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 381 in 2000. Iowa Highway 136 passes through Worthington, which is situated north of Cascade and south of Dyersville. ...

and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was entered into the

1988 Cannes Film Festival The 41st Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 23 May 1988. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Pelle erobreren'' by Bille August. The festival opened with '' Le Grand Bleu'', directed by Luc Besson and closed with ''Willow'', directed by Ron How ...

Plot

The Roberts family farm in Iowa is a prosperous one. Frank Roberts, Sr. and his two young sons are even visited there by

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

during the Soviet Union premier's tour of the

in 1959. The farmland worked on by three-generations of Roberts' used to be top-notch, but costs have steadily risen while crop prices have barely budged, so many farmers have been failing. A deluge of rain has ruined the crops. They must resort to desperate measures, they sell practically all their personal belongings in a yard sale, just to pay their bills. Anger in Frank Jr. builds when the bank forecloses, until he ultimately suggests to younger brother Terry that they set fire to the farm, rather than let the bank seize control of it. As the brothers take to the road, becoming thieves, the story of their action at home strikes a chord with neighbors and strangers who offer them shelter or even a hideout when the law's in pursuit. Along the way, the Roberts brothers encounter a wide variety of people. Terry meets, and falls for, his soulmate, Sally (

Penelope Ann Miller Penelope Ann Miller (born Penelope Andrea Miller; January 13, 1964), sometimes credited as Penelope Miller, is an American actress. She began her career on Broadway in the 1985 original production of ''Biloxi Blues'' and received a Tony Award no ...

); a stripper introduces them to Maxwell, a reporter who wants to tell their story before the law catches up with them. Cocky Frank decides they go to a local fair. He's power-drunk on the press, literally drunk and loud when they start the ox pull competition. When he sees the struggling ox, he tries to stop the driver, then puts the animal out of its misery. The police are alerted, but they run. The next day, Frank leaves Terry sleeping in the car goes in to rob the bank, but Terry stops him and they escape. That afternoon they find work with a fellow corn harvester, but they are spotted and get the cops on their tail. Finally Terry, with the help of Sally's lawyer father, decides to stay, and Frank drives off in the distance.

Cast

as Frank Roberts, Jr. * Kevin Anderson as Terry Roberts *

as Sally * Helen Hunt as Jennifer *

Terry Kinney Terry Kinney (born January 29, 1954) is an American actor and theater director, and is a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, with John Malkovich, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Sinise, and Jeff Perry. Kinney is best known for his role as ...

as Mark *

Brian Dennehy Brian Manion Dennehy (; July 9, 1938 – April 15, 2020) was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He won two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe, and received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Dennehy had roles in ...

as Frank Roberts, Sr. *

Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career sp ...

as Exotic Dancer *

Francis Guinan Francis V. Guinan Jr. (born November 17, 1951) is an American film, television and stage actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Edgar Teller the patriarch in the short-lived series ''Eerie, Indiana''. The Council Bluffs, Iowa-born actor h ...

as Tommy Malin *

Judith Ivey Judith Lee Ivey (born September 4, 1951) is an American actress and theatre director. She has twice won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play: for ''Steaming'' (1981) and '' Hurlyburly'' (1984). She has also appeared in several film ...

as Frances *Dennis Blome as Sheriff *

John Malkovich John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...

as Barry Maxwell *

Yancy Taylor Yancy may refer to: Given name: * Yancy (musician) (born 1980), American Christian musician * Yancy Ayers (1891–1968), American pitcher in Major League Baseball * William Yancy Bell (1887–1962), follower of Marcus Garvey, Bishop of the Christia ...

as Kid at Fair (uncredited) *

Laura San Giacomo Laura San Giacomo (born November 14, 1962) is an American actress. She played Cynthia in the film ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (1989) for which she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female, Kit De Luca in the film ''Pretty Woman ...

as Sandy (uncredited) *Larry Poling as

Moira Harris Moira Jane Harris Sinise (born April 19, 1954) is a retired American actress. Biography Harris was born in Pontiac, Illinois and is a Roman Catholic convert. She graduated from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. During her college ye ...

as Frank's Girl (uncredited) *Dick Stout as Random Fair Goer (uncredited)

Reception

Box office

The film gained a limited release, and grossed about $188,000.

Critical Reception

The movie received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds a 60% "Fresh" rating based on 5 reviews. According to film historian

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

, "Gere's actions, and his performance, are so off-putting that you wonder if he doesn't deserve his fate...which can hardly be the point."

References

External links

* * * {{rotten-tomatoes, miles_from_home, Miles from Home 1988 films 1980s crime drama films Films set in Iowa Films set in the 1950s Films directed by Gary Sinise Films scored by Robert Folk Cultural depictions of Nikita Khrushchev 1988 directorial debut films 1988 drama films 1980s English-language films