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Movies / On DVD / Turn the River
Turn the River

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Turn the River (2008)

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67 %
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Reviews Counted: 18

Fresh: 12

Rotten:6

Average Rating: 5.9/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:May 9, 2008 Limited

Synopsis: Though most know Famke Janssen for action-oriented roles in the X-Men films, she bears the heft of this weighty drama with apparent ease. Janssen stars as Kailey, a woman who had to give up her son... Though most know Famke Janssen for action-oriented roles in the X-Men films, she bears the heft of this weighty drama with apparent ease. Janssen stars as Kailey, a woman who had to give up her son at birth, but now she's using her skills as a pool hustler to earn enough money to get him back. Actor Chris Eigeman (THE TREATMENT) turns director, writer, and producer with this acclaimed indie film. [More]

Starring: Famke Janssen, Rip Torn, Jaymie Dornan, Lois Smith

Starring: Famke Janssen, Rip Torn, Jaymie Dornan, Lois Smith, Matt Ross, Terry Kinney, Marin Hinkle

Director: Chris Eigeman

Director: Chris Eigeman
Screenwriter: Chris Eigeman
Producer: Ami Armstrong
Composer: Bryce Dessner, Padma Newsome
Studio: Screen Media

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Release:

Jul 22, 2008

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Reviews for Turn the River

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1 - 18 (sorted by date)
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Hopefully, more moviegoers will catch a performance as promising as this Turn in another rack.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
10/18/08
Chad Greene
Boxoffice Magazine

Janssen, who reportedly did her own pool shooting, is [best] served in the scenes with Gulley, which are wrenching in a coolly understated way.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
05/16/08
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

A well-acted, if not terribly well-crafted, character-driven drama without much in the way of a purpose.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
05/16/08
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

We're left after this terse and anxious film knowing nothing more about the world than that Janssen looks cool bending over and glaring at the eight-ball

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
05/15/08
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

Turn the River is a finely observed portrait of a desperate working-class woman who refuses to play by ordinary rules.

comment Comment
05/09/08
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Turn the River lacks almost everything Eigeman has as a performer: charisma, wit and snappy delivery.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
05/09/08
Kyle Smith
New York Post
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It's not sharp or ironic, but drab and downbeat. Unfortunately, it's also going to feel utterly familiar to those who've seen their share of independent dramas in the last 15 years.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
05/09/08
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A modest, grittily surfaced film that, while nothing earth-shaking, manages to hold your interest, despite its basic been-there/done-that premise.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
05/09/08
David Noh
Film Journal International

A small-scale but thoroughly engrossing drama full of strong performances and sharp dialogue.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
05/09/08
Rafer Guzman
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

captures the scant, fetid tone of broken down pool halls and cracked glass bars infested with third-rate hustlers and frat boys slumming for a hustle

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
05/08/08
Paul Brenner
Filmcritic.com

No glamorized games here, just a bleak look at a bleak story of a woman trying to crawl her way up from a life of limited options.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
05/08/08
Matt Pais
Metromix.com

What Eigeman needs is a stronger sense of style and storytelling if he wants to elevate the material past the stock indie-miserabilism mark.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
05/08/08
David Fear
Time Out New York

The sense of storytelling intelligence is undeniable.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
05/07/08
Nick Pinkerton
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Skip the coda to this movie, with its tiny upswing of hope, and remember the days at the tables, as dim and endless as nights, and the click of the dialogue.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment Comment
05/05/08
Anthony Lane
New Yorker
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The movie has a mixture of edginess and melancholy that’s beautifully sustained until the climax, when the tang of realism becomes the cudgel of melodrama.

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
05/05/08
David Edelstein
New York Magazine
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It's a bumpy film, and though no one may see it, it's impossible to imagine it playing as gracefully, like its effectively open-ended finale, without Janssen's conviction to her role.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
05/04/08
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

Turn the River, sometimes like Kailey herself and sometimes not, has a laudable habit of pulling back at the right moments and proving its mettle in unexpected ways.

Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | comment Comment
04/26/08
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks

[This] atmospheric pic positively vibrates with authenticity.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
11/14/07
Ronnie Scheib
Variety
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