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The River Wild (1994): Starring Meryl Streep, David Strathairn, Joseph Mazzello, Kevin Bacon, John C. Reilly, Victor Galloway, Elizabeth Hoffman, Benjamin Bratt William Lucking, Diane Delano...Director Curtis Hanson..Screenplay Dennis O'Neill This 1994 Curtis Hanson film followed the more successful "Hand That Rocks The Cradle" in 1992. It stars Meryl Streep as Gail Hartman, an expert camper and white-water rafter who is stuck in an increasingly stale marriage to Tom (David Strathairn). For her son Roarke (Joseph Mazello) 13rth birthday they decide to go out into the wild for a weekend. They come across two other rafters, Wade and Terry (Kevin Bacon and John C. Reilly) who take an interest in the boy. At first, it appears they have an agenda- they provoke Tom's jealousy as Gail is drawn to Wade, possibly because he reminds her of herself as a young girl. But Wade becomes a menace. He's a wanted theft and he forces the family into a precarious situation. They must cross extremely dangerous waters to get to their destination and fight off these baddies. This hard experience ultimately brings the family together. Tom, who changes from a weak father to hero, is a rather interesting transformation to see on film and he is played well by David Straithairn, a fab actor who is unfortunately underrated. Meryl Streep appears to be doing a film she would normally not attempt. She proves her versatility as a "cool" nature-loving mother and does not possess any of the Hollywood-fed glamour for this role. She is convincing as a middle-class American wife. The cinematography is stunning. The rapids are gorgeous and exciting to look at, the grand scenes of mountains and forests, rocks, steep cliffs. The music score is also lovely. A great film from the 90's by a director who's had fine and different-themed films in his repertoire.
score 10/10
FloatingOpera7 20 May 2006
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1372621/ |
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29-11-2019 22:56:27
