Two brothers: one a drug-dealing layabout, while the other is a hardworking "model son." When the one begins straightening himself out by becoming a high school track star, the other is jealous and retreats into alcohol.

When Billy (Ricky Schroder) returns from reform school, he has to attend a different high school at the other side of town. He tries to start with a clean slate but his old rival doesn't make it easy on him and his buddy Louie (David Anthony Marshall) tries to make him go astray again. His brother Joe (Brad Pitt), quite the opposite of Billy, is a good runner and determined to win a track scholarship. He suggests Billy to join his school's track team, which pits the two brothers against each other.—Willy Vanhaelen <[email protected]>

Joe Maloney (Brad Pitt) is a straight A student vying for an athletic scholarship to Stanford. He lives with his mother (Carrie Snodgress) in a trailer park in Gardena, CA. His well-laid plans for the future are thrown into turmoil when his troubled younger brother (Rick Schroder) is released from Juvenile Detention following his arrest for stealing a car and comes to live with them back home. A story of anger, rivalry, love and redemption, "Across the Tracks" explores the powerful dynamics of brotherly love.—Sandy Tung