Kelly WandRiver's Edge
November 18th 2006 00:55
“River’s Edge” is one of those films that has quietly earned its place amongst the modern classics. If you’ve seen it, you’ll know why. If you haven’t, it about time that you did. It is not a pleasant film. It does what it does very well but what it does isn’t very nice. Worst still, it is apparently based on a true story with the writer using his ex school friends as models for the characters. The result is an unpleasant realism that we know exists around us but try to forget about at every available opportunity.
Samson, a dumb jock lunk of a boy, murders a fellow student and leaves her naked body by the river. If he had a reason for doing it, it won’t make much sense to anyone in the audience. It seems to boil down to a simple reason and that is that he could. He boasts to his dumb ass friends that he’s done it. He convinces them to go and see the body. They react numbly, more concerned about keeping Samson out of jail than the fact that one of their friends is dead.
“She’s gone. He’s still here”, rationalises Crispin Glover’s character. It is an utterly star making performance. He even steals scenes from Dennis Hopper as his character finally finds the level of excitement he has dreamed of his whole life. It’s his movie from the moment he hits the screen. You’d think it would be starring roles from here on out but, as most of you are thinking the Creepy Thin Man from Charlie’s Angels, you know how that turned out.
Keanu Reeves almost convinces you that he knows how to act but, as his character admits to barely knowing how to feel anything, it is difficult to tell. Keanu’s Matt is the only guy in the film who finds murdering your friends to be something morally questionable. His decision to secretly phone the police will throw the whole social order out of whack particularly since he has been overheard by his dead shit of a brother.
Definitely worth spending a night in for.
Samson, a dumb jock lunk of a boy, murders a fellow student and leaves her naked body by the river. If he had a reason for doing it, it won’t make much sense to anyone in the audience. It seems to boil down to a simple reason and that is that he could. He boasts to his dumb ass friends that he’s done it. He convinces them to go and see the body. They react numbly, more concerned about keeping Samson out of jail than the fact that one of their friends is dead.
“She’s gone. He’s still here”, rationalises Crispin Glover’s character. It is an utterly star making performance. He even steals scenes from Dennis Hopper as his character finally finds the level of excitement he has dreamed of his whole life. It’s his movie from the moment he hits the screen. You’d think it would be starring roles from here on out but, as most of you are thinking the Creepy Thin Man from Charlie’s Angels, you know how that turned out.
Keanu Reeves almost convinces you that he knows how to act but, as his character admits to barely knowing how to feel anything, it is difficult to tell. Keanu’s Matt is the only guy in the film who finds murdering your friends to be something morally questionable. His decision to secretly phone the police will throw the whole social order out of whack particularly since he has been overheard by his dead shit of a brother.
Definitely worth spending a night in for.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Easily Keanu Reeves best performance. I prey this is the standard he will bring to A Scanner Darkly