Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • 120

Saturday) November 9,. 1985; Target' right on the mark as spy thriller By Patrick Taggart American-Statesman Staff Review Matt Dillan plays the son in action- more action, in fact but there's no denying that what Penn allows us is imaginatively staged and satisfying to watch. Hackman's performance is almost sneakily good. It isn't until after the movie is over that one realizes how well he played his character's dual personality. It's not a Jekyll-and-Hyde kind of thing, either; the differences are subtle and contained.

Matt Dillon gives a good performance, too, and Target is his first film in years that hasn't let him hog the screen with a smoldering punk pose. There may be a good actor about to be born in Dillon; anyone who can hold the screen with Hackman has a good deal going for him. Target, rated for violence; at the Arbor, Highland and They don't have much time, as it turns out they are barely home from their first awkward fishing trip when news comes that Mom has been kidnapped. At this point one layer of Walter Lloyd quickly peels off. The creature that emerges from the lumberman's shell has nerves of steel, the stealth of a cat and a real knack for the spyin bidness.

Dad, it turns out is retired CIA, and somebody in Europe, carrying a grudge from the old days, wants to settle a score. This much out of the way, it's best to let the viewer see how Penn, working from a script by Howard Berk and Don Peterson, lets the drama play out Target is definitely an action picture, but if not one of those noisy thrillers that sets a quick pace and harsh tone and never lets up. One may well wish for a little packed 1 I Target. Things aren't always what they seem, and sometimes the most unlikely people live or have lived lives of high intrigue and even higher levels of excitement That the premise of Target, a dandy new spy film that takes a ho-hum Dallas family and turns it inside out The film was directed by Arthur Penn, who hasnt enjoyed a thoroughly successful picture since Little Big Man 15 years ago. But after weathering the eccentricity of The Missouri Breaks and the gagging sentimentality of Four Friends, he seems to be back on course and in good company.

Target is his third picture with Gene Hackman, and the same magic that fueled their relationship in Bonnie and Clyde and Night Moveshas found its way into the new picture. Not one of the daring narratives that used to be Perm's trademark. Target is a genre picture the international thriller. The action begins and lingers in Dallas where the Lloyds are seen leading the unspectacular life of upper-middle-class suburbanites. Mom (Gayle Hunnicutt) is about to begin a Paris vacation, son Chris (Matt Dillon), a sometime college student is preparing to move into his first apartment That leaves Walter (Hackman), the patriarch, a cautious, quiet man whose risk-averse personality has fueled a brooding anger in Chris.

"You're the only guy I know who lets the car warm up in the summer," grouses the son. We know this is a set-up for the thrills to come later, and you can bet much will be made of Dad's reputation for driving everywhere at 20 miles an hour. In theearly portion of the movie, though, the men must figure out how they're going to get along with each other while Mom's away. JG KOIL That Was Then' is thoughtful film By Patrick Taggart American-Statesman Staff That Was Then is Emilio Estevez' I vr 1 first stab at screen- M.i writing. i Review Immediate una Hwriaxi! Availability mar mm mmmmmw wmm av jsr -a.

-t i 90 DAYS SAME AS CASH Kin; a3, Pswtaft taai, two LM Cjt! mrt.t a tht tetry st aslyy Fries mm with '1C3X3 cr more set (UP TO C15 SAVINGS) KMGKCHL That Was Then, This is Now is the fourth S.E. Hinton novel to reach the screen, and is the only one besides Tex to escape having its issues muddled on screen. Like the others, which include Francis Coppola's The Outsiders and Rumblefish, the new film is concerned with the spiritual growth of wayward adolescents, and this time the themes arent overwhelmed by flashy visuals and a cluttered soundtrack problems that nk the Coppola pictures. That Was Then was directed by Christopher Cain from a screenplay by star Emflio Estevez. This is Estevez first stab at screcBwriimg, and it's a good one.

As an actor he demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the character he is pl2ying a high-school rowdy who cant seem to face growing up and as a writer he reveals a good ear for the way kids tait The plot has a couple of structural lumps in it and there's a fcbd of cop-oat scene tSat he probably didn't write, but on balance he has crafted a compelling drama. The action is set in the Midwest and focuses on two young friends brothers, practically, since Mark (Estevez) has lived with Byron (Craig Sheffer) since his parents' death nine years earlier. Very quickly it becomes clear that the two are drifting apart Mark is still consumed with petty hoodlumism joyriding in "borrowed" cars and accepting any opportunity for a street fight Byron is torn by loyalty to his friend and his own growth. He wants to leave boyish things behind, and when he takes a steady job and finds a KincKoil 5 Yaaf firm ORTHOPEDIC 15 Year Extra Fra Sear 20 Year Deluxe HncKai 1C Year Regular Fra 1SYarUa.Fni TVMSET '229 TON SET .269 .149 ton set Reg. 1 TWMSET Reg.

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62 V89 steady girl Mark rides him unmercifully. We sense it's an outpouring of envy as much as contempt This is a thoughtful firm, and it reflects Simon's trademark as an unsentimental chronicler of adolescent affliction. She doesn't bother too much with redemption: Eer interest isn't in gassying up a wayward kid for salvation in the manner of countless TV movies. In all of her work, we see people with a kit of goodness inside, but they've been treated poorly for so long, or have been associating with lousy people for so long, that they don't know how to find that goodness within themselves. That Was Then, ThisisNowis a good, basic, cautionary tale, with Hinton indicating through her characters: This could be you.

The finale is appropriately ambiguous, although the lurchingly upbeat sequence that ends the film has the odor of a calculated crowd-pleaser. That Was Then, This is Now, rated for profanity; at the Americana and Southpark. Bill tti Wk 1 Reg. 1289 UJJ Que '429 King Set 59 ZlZZilL. FACTORY Mattes SALES mm.