''CrissCross'' is a 1992 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Chris Menges Chris Menges BSC, ASC (born 15 September 1940) is a British cinematographer and film director. He is a member of both the American and British Societies of Cinematographers. Life and career Menges was born in Kington, Herefordshire, the ...

and written by Scott Sommer, based on his homonymous novel. It stars

Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, producer, dancer, and singer. She achieved stardom and acclaim for playing lighthearted comedic roles in film and television. In a career spanning six decades, she has received ...

Arliss Howard Leslie Richard "Arliss" Howard (born October 18, 1954) is an American actor, screenwriter, and film director. He is known for his roles in the films ''Full Metal Jacket'' (1987), '' Tequila Sunrise'' (1988), '' The Lost World: Jurassic Park'' (19 ...

Keith Carradine Keith Ian Carradine ( ; born August 8, 1949) is an American actor. In film he is known for his roles as Tom Frank in Robert Altman's ''Nashville'', E. J. Bellocq in Louis Malle's ''Pretty Baby'', and Mickey in Alan Rudolph's '' Choose Me.'' ...

Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent Buscemi (,As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself. It is not uncommon for people to pronounce his name or instead. ; born December 13, 1957) is an American actor. He is known for his work as an acclaimed character actor. Mul ...

, and

David Arnott David Arnott (born 1963) is an American actor, screenwriter and musical composer living in Southern California. Among his credits, Arnott co-wrote ''Last Action Hero'', and starred in '' The Last Man'' with Jeri Ryan. David is a member of the l ...

Plot

Divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

d mom Tracy Cross (Hawn) raises her 12-year-old son, Christopher (Arnott), in

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

in 1969 around the time of the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

Moon landing. Chris narrates the film in voice-over and talks about his "screwed up" life living with his mother in a cheap hotel. Chris' father (Carradine) was an

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

trained fighter pilot who had served in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. However, he became seriously disturbed after bombing a civilian hospital and burned his uniform as a "killer's costume". Falling into

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

, he deserts Chris and Tracy moving into a commune separating himself from society. Chris hasn't seen his father in three years but still loves him deeply. Chris delivers papers and fish to help support his mother who works as a bartender and waitress. He unwittingly discovers that there are drugs hidden in the fish he is delivering and becomes a small-time drug dealer out of desperation when he finds his mother, Tracy, has resorted to working as a

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events. Modern forms of stripping m ...

to support them. She is ashamed when he confronts her with this, but she tells him that sometimes in life one has to do what is not good to get what is. Chris visits his father in the commune and attempts to get him to reconcile with Tracy but to no avail. A stranger, Joe (Howard), comes to town and strikes up a relationship with Tracy. This further disturbs her son. Joe turns out to be a law-enforcement undercover agent, working to bring down the drug ring. His relationship with Tracy and her son complicates matters as the time comes to make the arrest. Chris narrowly escapes being killed when he delivers the drugs and it degenerates into a shootout. In the end, he spends the night in jail and is put on probation learning a valuable lesson. He and Tracy move into a mobile home park and she retires from stripping. The Apollo Moon landing is mentioned throughout the film as a sort of metaphor and Chris mentions in the end how happy the astronauts must have been to have returned to the Earth no matter how screwed up it is.

Cast

* David Arnott as Chris Cross *

as Tracy Cross * J.C. Quinn as Jetty *

as Joe *

as John Cross *

James Gammon James Richard Gammon (April 20, 1940 – July 16, 2010) was an American actor, known for playing grizzled "good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series. Gammon portrayed Lou Brown, the manager of fictionalized versions of the Cleve ...

as Emmitt *

as Louis, The Drug Dealer *

Annie McEnroe Anne McEnroe is an American actress who had roles in the 1980s and 1990s, including '' Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf'' and ''Beetlejuice''. She was married to Edward R. Pressman, whom she met on the set of '' The Hand'', which he produce ...

as Mrs. Sivil

Location

Some scenes were shot in the

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

/Key West surrounding areas. The Spanish monastery in the film is in

North Miami North Miami is a suburban city located in northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, about north of Miami. The city lies on Biscayne Bay and hosts the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University. Originally the "Town of A ...

and was brought to Miami from Spain in thousands of numbered individual stone blocks and re-built stone by stone.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crisscross 1992 films 1992 drama films Films about drugs Films directed by Chris Menges Films shot in Florida Films set in 1969 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films scored by Trevor Jones Films about mother–son relationships 1990s English-language films