The River

1984

Action / Drama

12
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten24%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled49%
IMDb Rating6.3107070

river

Plot summary


Uploaded by: FREEMAN

Director

Top cast

Mel Gibson Photo
Mel Gibson as Tom Garvey
Sissy Spacek Photo
Sissy Spacek as Mae Garvey
Scott Glenn Photo
Scott Glenn as Joe Wade
James Tolkan Photo
James Tolkan as Howard Simpson
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
1.01 GB
1280*700
English 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
2 hr 4 min
P/S 1 / 1
1.96 GB
1904*1040
English 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
2 hr 4 min
P/S 3 / 5

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by SnoopyStyle7 / 10

stubborn obsession

Tom (Mel Gibson) and Mae Garvey (Sissy Spacek) struggle to keep their farm afloat after a devastating flood. Joe Wade (Scott Glenn) has a scheme to build a dam to bring water to his land. To do it, he would need to buy out all the farmers including the Garveys. Tom needs a loan but Joe Wade has lined up the bank and political backers against them.

It is the little guy struggling against the big guy. It is also about Tom's single-mindedness. Tom is not necessarily a sympathetic guy. He is stubborn beyond reason. He has a mean streak in him. This makes the simplistic movie structure of small-guy-makes-good not so simplistic. Sissy Spacek is able to soften him image somewhat. There are a couple of great scenes in the mix. The auction scene is the most memorable and heart breaking. The faces in the crowd says it all. The other is the strike. The ending of which is another great scene for a different reason. This starts out yet another small farmer struggle movie. In fact, it's the last of three big such releases of that year. It turns into a man obsessed against the river.

Reviewed by moonspinner554 / 10

Farm-family drama has noble intentions but a fumbled script and direction...

Mel Gibson isn't terribly convincing as a southern farmer and family man trying to hold onto his river-ravaged land; even when covered in soot and wearing overalls, everything about the young, wiry Gibson breathes prosperity. Corporate shady Scott Glenn (in a sleepwalking performance) wants Gibson and wife Sissy Spacek off their land in order to build a dam and flood the valley (it'll mean more jobs),but Gibson refuses to sell out. Sub-plot with Mel taking factory work (after crossing a picket line) is presumably meant to give us a more complete portrait of the man, but it just makes the character seem hard-headed. Upon opening with a lovely series of nature shots courtesy cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, director Mark Rydell immediately loses his footing with a sequence of contrived family action set in a rainstorm (underlined by an awful John Williams score). It's all downhill from there, with petulant, milky-skinned Gibson failing to match up with homespun Spacek, and two perky kids who keep playing to the camera. "The River" was released the same year as "Places in the Heart" and "Country", and was easily the weakest we-won't-lose-the-farm movie of the lot. Glossy, superficial and dull. *1/2 from ****

Reviewed by lee_eisenberg9 / 10

living in the dangerous conditions

"The River" tells the story of a family trying to hold on to their way of life in the face of insurmountable odds. The family initially faces a major threat from the river located next to their house, but then an even bigger threat from a businessman (Scott Glenn) who wants to build a dam and flood the valley.

I wouldn't call "The River" a masterpiece, but it does a good job showing the family's desperation. The dad (Mel Gibson) accepts a questionable job, while the mom (Sissy Spacek) has an experience that's likely to make anyone squirm. Every step of the way there are all sorts of hazards, whether in the working conditions, in the terrain, or from the businessman and his cronies.

This is a movie that goes for a lot of realism. The characters' bleak existence gets made clear through their unrefined looks. I recommend it.

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