There are some good, frightening scenes of volatile lunacy, but the whole thing badly lacks a controlling distance and perspective.
River's Edge (1987)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:35
Fresh:30
Rotten:5
Average Rating:7.2/10
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Based on a real life incident, this disturbing drama serves as a seminal study of disillusioned and alienated youth. Set in a small rural town, the local clique of slacker teens is pulled apart... Based on a real life incident, this disturbing drama serves as a seminal study of disillusioned and alienated youth. Set in a small rural town, the local clique of slacker teens is pulled apart when Samson (Daniel Roebuck) kills his girlfriend on the banks of the river and then callously shows off the dead body to his friends. The teens are so numb and ambivalent to the reality of their situation that they remain relatively unphased by the murder of one of their own. Crispin Glover is brilliant as the drugged out paranoid, Layne, who sympathizes with the killer, and plots to hide him at the house of an eccentric recluse (Dennis Hopper), who is rumored to have comitted a similar crime in the 1960s. Keanu Reeves and Ione Skye co-star as Matt and Clarissa, two friends who are drawn together in their realization that something is horribly wrong. In this startling portrait of a morally void society, director Tim Hunter creates a remarkable world of dysfunction and dead-end lives that is haunting in its accuracy. [More]
Starring: Crispin Glover, Dennis Hopper, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye
Starring: Crispin Glover, Dennis Hopper, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye, Daniel Roebuck
Director: Tim Hunter
Director: Tim Hunter
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Reviews for River's Edge
Beautifully photographed by Frederick Elmes, the visuals are often at odds with the barreness at the movie's core.
Probes the breakdown of moral fiber in one community and its tragic results.
This is the best analytical film about a crime since The Onion Field and In Cold Blood.
It's more a success than a failure, if only because the confusions are so protean.
Based on an actual incident in Northern California, Tim Hunter's controversial indie addresses the growing alienation and moral vacancy among youths growing up in drug-oriented and media-saturated society; Keanu Reeves is perfectly cast.
A creepy, powerful, and underseen picture that features some virtuoso performances.
Exposes the brutal realities of life for alienated youth, and does it by imposing a strange emotional distance on the audience.
One of the most haunting films of the 1980s, River's Edge looks at a suburban, postpunk generation which has no causes, no morals, no feelings, and, worst of all, no future.
Latest News for River's Edge
May 19, 2005:
Hopper, Huppert, Keitel & Mirren to Visit "America"
A fistful of respected acting veterans are set to appear in Jerzy Skolimowski's "America," based on Susan Sontag's 2001 novel "In America," says The... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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