Mel Gibson directs himself and a compelling cast in this tale about how desperately boys, like the high schooler here, need father figures to form and fortify their self-worth.
Chuck’s (Nick Stahl) train wreck of a mother, Catherine (Margaret Whitton), is stumbling headlong into her fifth marriage. She and Chuck’s stepsisters Gloria (Fay Masterson) and Meg (Gaby Hoffmann), mock him as a daydreaming slow learner. Low on self-esteem, he’s itching to enter a military academy like his late father.
