The River (Widescreen Edition)
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Movie Reviews of The River (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: THE RIVER is not ON GOLDEN POND!
Summary: 3 Stars
After director Mark Rydell was nominated for his one Oscar in 1981 with ON GOLDEN POND he followed up with another "water drama",this time replacing Katherine Hephburn and Henry Fonda in an already successful Broadway play with Sissy Spacek and Mel Gibson in a trite heartland drama by Robert Dillon.THE RIVER was not successful then, and time has not been on it's side to make it any more endearing or enduring.Spacek had already won her single Oscar for COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER and Gibson was still emerging from "Down Under" when THE RIVER was filmed.The problem with this film is that this story is so GRAPES OF WRATH, but not anywhere as good.A struggling farmer and his wife try to stave off the floods of the river and the floods of the capitalist who want to drown the valley farmland and make a dam that will generate enough water for everyone.( Not a bad idea.They did it where I live and people were given fair market value and we have lots of water!)Well, Tom Garvey (Gibson) is laughingly bullheaded and will not leave the land of his ancestors.Spacek is WAY more convincing as his wife Mae who stays behind to work the land while Tom becomes a "scab",crossing the picket line in order to get work.The plot is terribly predictable with the perfect happy ending with the appropriate triumphant swell of orchestra.The chemistry between Spacek and Gibson is non-existent! They are simply unbelievable as a struggling couple in love.Scott Glenn's interaction as Joe Wade, Mae's former boyfriend and the man who wants to buy up the land and flood the valley, is far more convincing.I had not seen this film since it first was in the theatres in 1984, and was surprised at just HOW bad Mel Gibson is in this film,and how corny the entire script is! The best thing about this film is the river,itself,which seemed to be it's natural self,unaffected and brilliant in it's acting!If you must see it, get a VHS tape for a penny!Movie Review: Mixed bag
Summary: 3 Stars
Sissy Spacek gives a terrific performance in this seldom-seen "social problem" melodrama. The topic is the plight of the independent farmer, who is much more sympathetic than he would ordinarily be because in this film he looks and acts like international superstar Mel Gibson. The genuine item is not half as pretty, of course.
Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography is delicate and attentive; Mark Rydell's direction is ham-fisted and silly. The script is pure agitprop, and laughably bad.
If this film can be recommended (and I'm not sure it can), it would be for Spacek.
Movie Review: Wishy Washy
Summary: 3 Stars
Been a while since I saw this but remember it not remarkable. Though Mel Gibson is like me, Australian, and I should be prejudiced,in recent years I have become bored with him. On a one to ten scale, ten being best, give this one six.Movie Review: "Sooner or later there's gonna be too much rain."
Summary: 2 Stars
Sissy Spacek received her fourth Oscar nomination for her role in 1984's "The River." She plays a farm wife, struggling to keep her family intact while her husband (Mel Gibson) tries to save their farm. The farm abuts a small river, which seems to flood every time it rains. The flooding ruins their crops and puts the family at constant peril of bankruptcy. Add to this mixture Scott Glenn, who plays a scheming developer; he wants to buy up all the land and have the government build a dam to flood the valley. Gibson and Spacek refuse to sell their land, and Gibson even takes work at a local mill to stave off creditors. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Gibson, he is replacing striking workers and gets branded a scab.
"The River" tackles a very worth topic - the farming crisis of the 1980s, when many small farmers lost their land for a variety of economic reasons. However, it also tries to address unions, scab workers, and several other social issues. By doing so, the message of the film ends up being a bit jumbled. There also are several unbelievable scenes; in particular, there are several scenes where a crowd reacts in unison, all set to swelling music.
Some viewers are likely to find Gibson's character overly stubborn and aloof. I didn't have a negative reaction to him; he's meant to represent, I think, the many quiet men who fight for their families. These kind of men, though, often are very emotionally expressive, which can make watching them onscreen rather frustrating. I found Scott Glenn's character more problematic. He is supposed to be the villain, but he starts off far too nice before taking a nasty (and abrupt) turn very late in the picture. Fortunately, Sissy Spacek's character is much more fully rounded, and she gives a very good performance. Her performance makes the movie (barely) worth a look.
Movie Review: Except for Spacek and Glenn
Summary: 1 Stars
As much as I enjoy Sissy Spacek, this movie proved disappointing. She and Glenn are excellent (so are the 2 kids) but there was nothing about Gibson's character that made me care and his acting is so dreadfully dull. The only chemistry in the entire movie existed whenever Spacek and Glenn were interacting. The scene where he tries to convince her that she could (and could have) done better was very well done.. is there a more "real" actress than Sissy Spacek? She is so believable in everything she does. Gibson's character is such a wimp. In the scene where the "scab" workers are leaving the mill and taking abuse (understandable) from the striking workers, I kept waiting for Gibson's character to take it for just so long before screaming out "I have a family too". He was pathetic. The happy ending with the family of four enjoying a wagon ride was too Hollywoodish. For a far truer look at farmers in difficulty, "Grapes of Wrath" has never been improved upon.