# Running on Empty (1988)

> A gifted teenager in a fugitive antiwar family must choose between building an independent future and preserving the fragile life that has kept his parents free.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/10943

## Facts

- Runtime: 116 min
- Genres: Drama, Romance, Crime
- Director: Sidney Lumet
- Cast: Christine Lahti, River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch, Jonas Abry, Martha Plimpton, Ed Crowley, L.M. Kit Carson, Steven Hill
- TMDB rating: 7.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096018/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Mood: wistful, tender, serious, reflective evening, classic film night

## Synopsis

A family on the run grapples with the cost of freedom and the ties that bind them.

## Movies like Running on Empty

- [Heaven Help Us (1985)](https://ember.film/movie/26112)
- [Armageddon Time (2022)](https://ember.film/movie/432830)
- [Suburbia (1984)](https://ember.film/movie/17056)
- [The Cure (1995)](https://ember.film/movie/3657)
- [Chasing June (2025)](https://ember.film/movie/7451261)
- [Swing Kids (1993)](https://ember.film/movie/5506)
- [A Little Romance (1979)](https://ember.film/movie/12548)
- [Little Man Tate (1991)](https://ember.film/movie/6490)
- [At Close Range (1986)](https://ember.film/movie/7992)
- [The Manhattan Project (1986)](https://ember.film/movie/18721)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt