‘I think freedom’s overrated,’ says ex-convict John Booth (David Morse) to an enthused left-wing activist. ‘What you’re talking about. You know, if there isn’t something bigger than freedom, then freedom is just entertainment.’

I do not usually begin discussing a film by quoting from the film, but it is a striking line and really speaks to the best aspects of The Crossing Guard. This 1995 drama was written and directed by Sean Penn, and starred Morse alongside Jack Nicholson, Anjelica Huston, and Robin Wright. Technically and structurally the film has a fair amount of problems, but as a venue for talented actors to express remarkable characters the film is second to none. Viewers may be attracted by the premise, but it is the quality of dialogue and performance that sustains one’s attention.

John Booth has been released from several years in prison, having previously killed a young girl in a drink-driving accident. In Booth’s absence, the child’s parents’ marriage has collapsed: mother Mary (Huston) had tried moving on with a new husband and her remaining children, while father Freddy (Nicholson) slowly drinks himself to death while wasting time in low-rent strip clubs. When Freddy drunkenly barges into Booth’s trailer to murder him in revenge, it turns out he forgot to load his gun. Promising to return sober and better-armed, he gives Booth three days to settle his affairs.

The Crossing Guard is an uneven picture. Its story does not entirely work, and it never quite seems certain where – and on whom – it should focus. It also has a bizarre obsession with low frame-rate slow motion, which constantly feels ugly and amateurish. There is undeniably a sense of pretention about the piece, which is fine if the quality of the film justifies it but otherwise feels rather unbearable.

Where the film excels is in its performances. It is perhaps no surprise that, as an actor himself, Sean Penn has a remarkable ability to pull the very best out of his cast. David Morse is tremendous. He has always been an underrated and under-utilised actor in Hollywood, and he infuses his character with realism and complexity. Jack Nicholson is provided with genuinely challenging material here, and forms a broken, tragic character that stands as one of the best pieces of acting in the 1990s. Both Robin Wright and Angelica Huston deliver particularly strong work, but it is a shame that both of their characters are side lined to some extent by the two male leads.

It is a shame that Penn’s film ultimately succumbs to sentimentality, because it is imbued throughout with enormous potential. His cast is remarkable. His characters could be so enormously interesting. Ultimately the skeleton built around them is not strong enough to bring that potential fully into the open. Great acting, but a missed opportunity.