the fact that she must let her son go and find his own way. This does not sit well with Arthur even as Annie risks their safety to contact her estranged father and arrange a home and life for Danny if they should decide to leave him behind. When Arthur hears on the radio that one of their underground colleagues has been shot and killed running from the authorities, he realizes that it is better for his son to pursue his dreams than to continue living a dangerous life on the run from crimes for which Danny bears no responsibility. The family leaves Danny behind and heads off for their next identity in a new town. Cast River Phoenix as Danny Pope Christine Lahti as Annie Pope Judd Hirsch as Arthur Pope Jonas Abry as Harry Pope Martha Plimpton as Lorna Phillips Ed Crowley as Mr. Phillips (Lorna's father) Steven Hill as Donald Patterson (Annie's father) Augusta Dabney as Abigail Patterson (Annie's mother) L. M. Kit Carson as Gus Winant David Margulies as Dr. Jonah Reiff Lynne Thigpen as Contact at Eldridge St. Marcia Jean Kurtz as School Clerk Sloane Shelton as Mrs. Phillips (Lorna's mother) Real-life inspirations Politico'''s Jeffrey Ressner writes that Arthur and Annie Pope were loosely modeled after Weather Underground leaders Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn. John Simon states that the characters' bombing of a napalm research facility was inspired by the Sterling Hall bombing of 1970. ReceptionRunning on Empty was released on September 9, 1988, in 22 theaters, where it grossed $215,157 on its opening weekend. It went on to make $2,835,116 in North America. Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and called it "one of the best films of the year". In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote, "The courtship between Danny and Lorna is staged especially disarmingly, with Mr. Phoenix and Miss Plimpton conveying a sweet, serious and believably gradual attraction." Newsweek'' magazine's David Ansen wrote, "A curious mix of soap opera and social history, Lumet's film shouldn't work, yet its fusion of oddly matched parts proves emotionally overpowering. You have to be pretty tough to resist it." Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 81% based on reviews from 31 critics. Metacritic gave the film a score of 67 based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The Japanese filmmaker Akira