Bloodbrothers (1978)

In modern times, this movie could be titled Toxic Masculinity the Movie. In a working class Bronx family, Richard Gere is a sensitive young man who doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life but definitely would rather work with kids than the union construction job his father and uncle have pushed onto him. His father Tony Lo Bianco is a philanderer who beats his wife to the emergency room when he just suspects her of infidelity and has caused her such general anxiety that in turn her influence brought an eating disorder in their younger son. It’s an appealing early role for Gere, though he seems like he should have just been born with grey hair. I particularly appreciate his bonding with children throughout the film and his relationship with waitress Marilu Henner.

Oscar Nomination: Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium