X
- 1987
- R
- Island Pictures
- 1 h 39 m
- 1987
- R
- Island Pictures
- 1 h 39 m
Summary A high school slacker commits a shocking act and proceeds to let his friends in on the secret. However, the friends' reaction is almost as ambiguous and perplexing as the crime itself.
Directed By: Tim Hunter
Written By: Neal Jimenez
- 1987
- R
- Island Pictures
- 1 h 39 m
- 1987
- R
- Island Pictures
- 1 h 39 m
River's Edge
73
6.4
Summary A high school slacker commits a shocking act and proceeds to let his friends in on the secret. However, the friends' reaction is almost as ambiguous and perplexing as the crime itself.
Directed By: Tim Hunter
Written By: Neal Jimenez
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
73
74% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
26% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
73
74% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
26% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
River's Edge is a great movie. Based on a true story, the general plot is straightforward - stoner guy kills stoner girlfriend, leaves her body by the river, and brags to all of his stoner buds - but there are darker undercurrents that stir up thoughts about the disillusionment of youth, the devaluation of women, and the death of Sixties idealism. Director Hunter is a whiz at pacing and keeps the plot rolling while he further muddies the waters with his intriguing montages.
Based on a true story, the movie has a hypnotic, documentary like appeal despite outlandish performances by Crispin Glover as the ringleader of the kids and Dennis Hopper as a wacked-out former hippie who offers them shelter. River's Edge is challenging to watch if only because it doesn't lecture. It simply presents these young people as wandering, stoned souls;
shows a few of them grappling with moral responsibility, and allows the rest to fail. As we leave the theater, we can't help but wonder how common their behavior may be.
A disquieting tale set in the grim realities of trashy America. Some great, often insane performances make it a memorable trip.
This generation's postpunk worldview is rooted in nihilism, detachment, and fear of nuclear annihilation--nothing matters to them except friends, rock 'n' roll, and getting stoned. River's Edge also boasts the best cast of unknowns since Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders. Reeves and Skye are superb as the moral centers of the film, Roebuck is great as the killer, and the supporting performances are also impressive. Glover and Hopper go over the top and get away with it.
There's a lot of low-key poetry and nicely casual tension in Hunter's direction and in Frederick Elmes' cinematography--and the acting ensemble is fine. For all its flaws and the revulsion it may induce, River's Edge has something valuable: a dark, harrowing but moral perspective.
It's not easy keeping track of all the contradictory tensions, and the film seems forever on the verge of spinning totally out of control, though whose control—Hunter's? Elmes's? anyone's?—it's hard to say. Still, it's more a success than a failure, if only because the confusions are so protean.
At its worst, River's Edge is crackpot sociology. Jimenez and Hunter use the characters' lack of affect as an indictment. The film has a hectoring, hysterical tone. It wants to find out why these kids, who have grown up in splintered, lower-middle-class homes, are like they are. They want to blame somebody.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 8 User Ratings
6.4
50% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
25% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
25% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 8 User Ratings
6.4
50% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
25% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
25% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Awards
Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
Young Artist Awards
• 3 Nominations
Sundance Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
