Made in 1971 for MGM, Herbert Leonard's film "Going Home" made little impression at the American box office and consequently was barely (or never) released in other countries. Since then, it has vanished even further into obscurity. One would assume that for a film to be so completely forgotten and overlooked, it must be pretty terrible (perhaps something like The Magus or Inchon, two long-lost atrocities which, through a combination of actor-power and public indifference, have become almost impossible to track down). Surprisingly, "Going Home" is not bad at all, and features some strong performances and memorable scenes. There seems to be no rational explanation for the disappearance of this film other than the fact that it was a flop during its initial run. If you are fortunate enough to come by it, it is a film worth catching.
The story begins with a powerful sequence in which an injured, bleeding woman stumbles downstairs while reaching desperately for her young son, who stands terrified at the foot of the steps. She is trying to give him one final embrace before she dies. However, the boy is so horrified at the sight of his blood-drenched mother that he dodges her and she eventually collapses dead on the floor. A few moments later, the boys drunken and dishevelled father comes down and stands ruefully over the corpse. We gradually realise that in a fit of drunken rage, the man has beaten his wife to death. The story cuts forward to show the young boy now a 19-year-old who has spent his youth in and out of various boys' care homes. Young Jimmy (played, as a 19-year-old, by Jan-Michael Vincent) decides the time has come to renew a relationship with his father Harry (Robert Mitchum). Initially expecting his father to be in jail, Jimmy discovers that Harry is out on parole, and eventually tracks him down to his home at a rather unglamorous trailer park. Here Jimmy awkwardly reunites with his dad, and the pair of them begin an uneasy relationship under the constant cloud of what Harry did to Jimmy's mom.... as well as the presence of Harry's new girlfriend, Jenny (Brenda Vaccaro), which further heightens the tension between them.
"Going Home" is basically a character study revolving around the three principal players, particularly Harry and Jimmy. Mitchum gives a strong performance as the father, and Vincent (in only his 8th film) is really good as his secretive, smouldering son. There are some great, understated touches of irony in the film too (e.g. Mitchum killed his wife by striking her with a ten-pin bowling trophy; later in the film he nonchalantly starts a conversation with his son about ten-pin bowling, barely realising the terrible memories it might trigger in the boy). It is definitely a slow-burning story and quite often it's hard to figure out what drives the characters to act as they do (in particular, many of Jimmy's silent, moody moments are frustratingly hard to fathom). However, in its quiet and downbeat little way this is an interesting, well-acted and thoughtful character piece.
The story begins with a powerful sequence in which an injured, bleeding woman stumbles downstairs while reaching desperately for her young son, who stands terrified at the foot of the steps. She is trying to give him one final embrace before she dies. However, the boy is so horrified at the sight of his blood-drenched mother that he dodges her and she eventually collapses dead on the floor. A few moments later, the boys drunken and dishevelled father comes down and stands ruefully over the corpse. We gradually realise that in a fit of drunken rage, the man has beaten his wife to death. The story cuts forward to show the young boy now a 19-year-old who has spent his youth in and out of various boys' care homes. Young Jimmy (played, as a 19-year-old, by Jan-Michael Vincent) decides the time has come to renew a relationship with his father Harry (Robert Mitchum). Initially expecting his father to be in jail, Jimmy discovers that Harry is out on parole, and eventually tracks him down to his home at a rather unglamorous trailer park. Here Jimmy awkwardly reunites with his dad, and the pair of them begin an uneasy relationship under the constant cloud of what Harry did to Jimmy's mom.... as well as the presence of Harry's new girlfriend, Jenny (Brenda Vaccaro), which further heightens the tension between them.
"Going Home" is basically a character study revolving around the three principal players, particularly Harry and Jimmy. Mitchum gives a strong performance as the father, and Vincent (in only his 8th film) is really good as his secretive, smouldering son. There are some great, understated touches of irony in the film too (e.g. Mitchum killed his wife by striking her with a ten-pin bowling trophy; later in the film he nonchalantly starts a conversation with his son about ten-pin bowling, barely realising the terrible memories it might trigger in the boy). It is definitely a slow-burning story and quite often it's hard to figure out what drives the characters to act as they do (in particular, many of Jimmy's silent, moody moments are frustratingly hard to fathom). However, in its quiet and downbeat little way this is an interesting, well-acted and thoughtful character piece.