Backfire (1988)
Overview
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.
Cast
Karen Allen
Mara McAndrew
Keith Carradine
Reed
Jeff Fahey
Donnie McAndrew
Bernie Casey
Clinton James
Dean Paul Martin
Jake
Virginia Capers
Maxine
Philip Sterling
Dr. Creason
Dinah Manoff
Jill
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"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.
