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Striking Distance

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Striking Distance
Promotional Movie Poster
Directed byRowdy Herrington
Written byRowdy Herrington
Marty Kaplan
Produced byMarty Kaplan
Arnon Milchan
StarringBruce Willis
Sarah Jessica Parker
Dennis Farina
Tom Sizemore
Robert Pastorelli
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
September 17, 1993 USA
Running time
101 min.
LanguageEnglish

Striking Distance is a 1993 film starring Bruce Willis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dennis Farina, and Tom Sizemore as Pittsburgh Police officers haunted by the effects of a serial killer. It was directed by Rowdy Herrington and written by Herrington and Marty Kaplan. The film was shot on location throughout Pittsburgh and its early title was Three Rivers.

The Plot

Tom Hardy, a police officer in Pittsburgh, (played by Bruce Willis) battles his uncle after the murder of his father. Tom Hardy comes from a family of cops and has just broken the unwritten rule, never 'rat out' another cop. This distances him from the other cops, but there's a serial killer on the loose. When Tom and his father and some other cops corner the killer, a big chase ensues and when it is over Tom's father is dead, thought to be killed by the perp. Later a suspect is brought whom Tom doesn't believe is the right guy, but most of the cops just don't want to believe him and think that his judgment is clouded. Eventually he is drummed out and the only position he could get is at river rescue. Two years later he still sticks to his beliefs and apparently the killer is back but nobody believes him and people think that it is copycat of the real serial killer.

The Serial Killer

When all is said and done, it is revealed that not only is Jimmy DeTillo the killer of both the Polish Hill murders, but the copycat ones as well. When Tommy, Jo and Danny are tied up in the family's old cabin on the lake, Jimmy reveals himself as the "best cop" which earlier in the movie was coined by Jimmy before allegedly killing himself on the bridge just as his mother had done. As believed, Tommy's father was killed in the accident which was presented in the beginning of the film. This accident was caused by a chase of the believed only suspect in the Polish Hill murders. Due to the fact that Tommy and his father were the only ones capable of keeping up with Jimmy in the chase, Jimmy, hurt, but alive, tries to make a break for it as both cars have been destroyed and backup is on its way. This is not shown in the beginning of the film, thus making this the "twist" of the plot. Jimmy's father, Uncle Nick, has shown up at the scene of the crime where Tommy is unconscious and his father is awake and noticeably chasing after the suspect, or as we now know it, Jimmy. Coming on to the scene of the accident, Uncle Nick, being the first to arrive, realizes his son is the suspect in the Polish Hill murder case, and is torn between being a good cop, or a loving father. He fights with his inner demons and finally allows Jimmy to make an attempt to escape. Vincent Hardy, not realizing who the suspect is, makes an attempt at stopping the suspect from escaping and therefore pulls his gun. Nick, pleading with Vincent to put the gun away, accidentally reverses the gun onto Vince as he is shooting it and therefore kills him which is the second "twist" of the ending.

When the flashback of the accident is over, Nick pleads with Jimmy to let Jo, Danny and Tommy go so they can go turn themselves in together and deal with the consequences as a family and as adults. But Jimmy doesn't buy it and shoots Nick, whereas Danny, still tied to a chair, rams Jimmy right before Nick gets one shot off and apparently kills Jimmy as backup cops are arriving. The third and final "twist" occurs as Jimmy is shown pulling off a bullet-proof vest and makes a getaway in Tommy's personal boat, but is unsuccessful and Tommy ends up saving the day.

Cast

Filming Locations

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