Nowhere to Run

An escape story in the action genre. Sam gets away during a prison transfer and looks for somewhere to hide in the country. He makes camp in the woods near a farm. Clydie lives on the farm with her two children. Her husband is dead and a construction company wants the land. The company offers money first, then sends men. Sam watches all of it from the woods. He does not want to get involved; there is a risk of being caught. But the boy sees him and things change. The structure comes from the classical western: a stranger from outside, a family under threat, a decision taken alone. The narrative moves that into 1990s action cinema. There is little fighting and it is banked at the end; most of the film is daily life on the farm and the pressure from the company. Jean-Claude Van Damme plays Sam and Rosanna Arquette plays Clydie; Kieran Culkin plays the boy. Robert Harmon directed. A calm example within its genre for anyone who likes 1990s action films. For a viewer expecting constant fighting, the film delays its action and puts its weight on the drama.