Why it may be worth watching
- Backfire combines Thriller and Drama elements in one feature.
- The principal cast includes Karen Allen, Keith Carradine, Jeff Fahey.
Movie
Before the night is over... someone will be rich, someone will be dead, someone will be avenged.
Mara McAndrew's marriage is falling apart. Her husband, Donnie, a Vietnam veteran, suffers troubling flashbacks about the war, leaving him unresponsive to her needs. Mara wants out, but she also wants Donnie's money. When Mara meets a mysterious stranger, Reed, at a local bar, she believes she has found the right person to help her out of her predicament. But Mara worries that Donnie's sister, Jill, is on to her.
More detailsPeople
Karen AllenMara McAndrew
Keith CarradineReed
Jeff FaheyDonnie McAndrew
Bernie CaseyClinton James
Dean Paul MartinJake
Virginia CapersMaxine
Philip SterlingDr. Creason
Dinah ManoffJill
Frances FlanaganClaire
Antony HollandJudge Hardin
Dwight KossDeputy 'Buzz'
Gordon McIntoshBig George
Wendy Van RiesenAlice
Viewing guide
Best suited to viewers looking for Thriller, Drama, Mystery. Its shorter runtime also makes it easier to fit into one sitting.
A regional age classification is not currently listed. Metadata signals include violence or peril. Ratings vary by country; use this as a quick screening note rather than a complete parental guide.
Viewing guidance uses the title details shown on this page; classifications may differ by region.
Community
"Backfire" is an exceedingly strong film from the very beginning and it easily leads the viewer astray on many occasions, especially after Mara is forced into the position where she must return home with Donny following his presumably failed suicide attempt - he has stipulated in some legal paperwork she will have power of attorney should he ever become incapacitated - and she must subsequently contend with the intrusive interference of Donny's sister Jill. This development narrows and sharpens the focus of the entire film and the true architect of ever…
"Backfire" is an exceedingly strong film from the very beginning and it easily leads the viewer astray on many occasions, especially after Mara is forced into the position where she must return home with Donny following his presumably failed suicide attempt - he has stipulated in some legal paperwork she will have power of attorney should he ever become incapacitated - and she must subsequently contend with the intrusive interference of Donny's sister Jill. This development narrows and sharpens the focus of the entire film and the true architect of everything which has been happening neatly harks back to the frequent visual references to Donny's traumas in Vietnam. The pace has also been tightly wrought throughout to achieve maximum effectiveness and potential and it continually manages to shatter expectations and anticipations to create an extremely poignant and memorable portrait of true friendship.
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