Five Corners

R

Released Jan 22, 1988

1h 32m

Mystery & Thriller

List

78%

9 Reviews

Tomatometer

54%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

This unusual film follows the unhinged Heinz (John Turturro), a rapist who has been released from prison, as he attempts to court Linda (Jodie Foster), a young woman whom he previously attacked. Coming to Linda's aid is Jamie (Todd Graff), her disabled boyfriend, while Harry (Tim Robbins), her protector from the earlier incident, is preoccupied with joining the civil rights movement. As Heinz' behavior grows increasingly bizarre, the offbeat tale moves towards its dramatic conclusion.

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Wayne L

Just the worse ending a crime/thriller movie could ever have. Bad acting. Its like they ran out of ideas on how to end the film and just made up any old rubbish. What a waste of time watching.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/22/24

Full Review

Georgan G

3 & 1/4 stars. It was fun seeing these actors so young, and they all did a great job. The plot was odd. Several characters made no sense. I was confused by the mysterious arrow killing 2 unrelated people.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/19/23

Full Review

Ted B

2.5 stars; The highlight of this film for me was the portrayal of the evil psycho by John Turturro. The tension he created with his portrayal was the only thing to me that was compelling. I guess the aim For this movie was to recreate The 5 corner neighborhood of The Bronx back in 1964. There was nothing really revealing in that aspect. It was more like watching an episode of "Laverne and Shirley".

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/25/22

Full Review

dave s

Five Corners is a good movie that could have been great. The central storyline involves Heinz (John Turturro), a wildly unstable sociopath who has been released from prison after serving time for attempted rape and his delusional desire to re-establish a relationship with the victim of his crime, Linda (Jodie Foster). Living in fear, Linda relies on her friend Harry (Tim Robbins) to protect her from Heinz, the problem being that Harry is now a pacifist. The story is fascinating, the film effectively captures the feel of 1964 New York, and the acting is great, especially Turturro in an absolutely electric performance. Where the film falters is the seemingly unrelated subplots involving a bow and arrow killer and a pair of glue-sniffing girls, both of which have little or nothing to do with the main story. Regardless, it is, at times, a fascinating and compelling film worth watching for the performances of the three leads early in their impressive careers.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Ronald H

This movie has a major tonal problem in that it tries to conflate childlike humor with brutal violence. It's like Laverne and Shirley meets Tarantino. It's a mess, but for some reason, it kept me interested. A 1987 film, Five Corners takes place in 1964, in a blue collar neighborhood in the Bronx. John Turturro turns in a scenery chewing performance as Heinz, a psychopath just released from prison. He was charged with rape and assault. He wants to reunite with Linda, (Jodie Foster) the girl he raped, so he returns to his old neighborhood. But his intentions aren't apologetic. He's a crazed, violent man. For protection, Linda goes to Harry (Tim Robbins), a former hood who has changed his ways and joined Martin Luther King's civil rights movement. There are numerous scenes of humor, but the humor is not well juxtaposed with the serious themes and the brutality. It's pretty hard to pull that off. The Coen brothers do it well, but director Tony Bill fails to make it work. I think the reason is that the humor is so innocent and childish. The screenplay wants it to be black humor, but it's more like pink. The overall result is confusing. I have no idea how to categorize this film. All I can say is, it's an entertaining failure. The early performances by Turturro, Foster, and Robbins are interesting to watch. And the St Bernard named Buddha is excellent! He plays more than a minor role.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/22/23

Full Review

steve d

effectively creepy and well acted.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Tony Bill

Director

Jodie Foster

Linda

Tim Robbins

Harry

John Turturro

Heinz

Todd Graff

Jamie

Elizabeth Berridge

Melanie

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Cathy Burke

United Press International

Bill presents his story of 5 Corners with a delicate mix of passion and humor, satire and devotion. It's the story of a time in America that became a crossroads for a generation, as well as for a unique neighborhood called 5 Corners.

Oct 11, 2016

Full Review

James Plath

Movie Metropolis

Reminds you that you can still find small treasures in all the piles of low-budget cinematic junk that are out there.

Rated: 7/10

Feb 26, 2011

Full Review

Chuck O'Leary

Fantastica Daily

Rated: 3/5

Oct 6, 2005

Full Review

Josh Ralske

All Movie Guide

Rated: 3/5

Sep 8, 2005

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Jul 4, 2005

Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality & Practice

Screenplay writer John Patrick Shanley fails to shed any new light on the thorny problem of senseless urban violence.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 27, 2004

Full Review

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Synopsis

This unusual film follows the unhinged Heinz (John Turturro), a rapist who has been released from prison, as he attempts to court Linda (Jodie Foster), a young woman whom he previously attacked. Coming to Linda's aid is Jamie (Todd Graff), her disabled boyfriend, while Harry (Tim Robbins), her protector from the earlier incident, is preoccupied with joining the civil rights movement. As Heinz' behavior grows increasingly bizarre, the offbeat tale moves towards its dramatic conclusion.

Director: Tony Bill
Producer: George Harrison, Denis O'Brien
Distributor: Cineplex-Odeon Films
Production Co: Cineplex-Odeon Films, Handmade Films
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 22, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 27, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $305.4K
Runtime: 1h 32m