![]() (This scene has to be watched to be appreciated.) Conflicts between Matt and other family members also illustrate his frustrations with a highly dysfunctional household, particularly when he clashes with his mother’s loafing, live-in boyfriend and calls him a “food-eater!” among other, more colorful names. ![]() In several scenes, an otherwise aimless Matt is shown constantly protecting his little sister from a malicious kid brother (played with haunting gusto by Joshua Miller) and neglectful mother. The cast is impressive all around, including Keanu Reeves whose popularity would soar several years later in films about runaway buses (reuniting him with co-star Dennis Hopper) and simulated realities. What’s most fascinating and disturbing about ‘River’s Edge’ is that characters are portrayed with depth and sensitivity, even though they could be rightfully dismissed as irresponsible losers. Director Hunter and screenwriter Neal Jiminez convey the same realistic grittiness of a Larry Clark film (especially ‘Bully,” which is also based around the real-life murder of a high school kid), but without the gratuitous sex and sleaze. ‘River’s Edge’ is an uncompromising examination into grisly and disturbing circumstances, yet avoids the gore and superficiality which might otherwise have reduced this movie to a perverted freak show. Instead of going to the authorities or doing anything else which might be reasonable in the face of an obvious murder scene, the kids merely become dazed and dumbfounded. He tells his friends (Matt played by Keanu Reeves, Clarissa played by Ione Skye, and Layne played by Crispin Glover) about the murder rather matter-of-factly, and they gaze upon the body with a morbid curiosity. Unlike the John Hughes-influenced teen films at that time, ‘River’s Edge’ portrays teen life as one of somber confusion and apathy, as opposed to the sanctimonious angst and self-pity typically seen in 'The Breakfast Club' and 'Pretty in Pink.' I first saw the film back in late eighties on VHS, and my appreciation has only grown after reviewing it on Blu-ray.ĭaniel Roebuck (perhaps best known for his exceptional Jay Leno in the HBO film ‘The Late Shift’) plays John, a disheveled, sullen high schooler who chokes his girlfriend Jaime to death and leaves her nude body on the shore of a river. The film was made for under $2,000,000 and shot in 30 days by director Tim Hunter, but was greeted with considerable critical acclaim and very modest box office success. These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.Released in 1987, ‘River’s Edge’ is an unsettling and unforgettable movie about a real-life teen murder, and it still carries quite an emotional impact nearly thirty years after its release. Overall I'd recommend it to older viewers looking for something different. Despite its school age settings it is certainly not suitably for younger viewers it more than earned its UK-18 certificate. The themes mean this certainly won't be for everybody. All this may make this seem like a film to avoid but it strangely works I was drawn into the characters' stories and thanks to solid low-key acting believed in them. The film has a bleak look something that is emphasised by its 4:3 picture ratio. The characters aren't particularly sympathetic again this is clearly deliberate. Similarly sex scenes aren't erotic but instead have a crude animalistic feel, clearly a deliberate choice. There violence which is rarely extreme but has a brutally realistic feel. We just see the characters interacting and experiencing a series of events. They include Ichiro Yamada, an in-the-closet gay boy who is frequently bullied Haruna Wakakusa, a girl he takes to see a dead body after she helps him one day Kannonzaki, her boyfriend who was the one bullying Yamada Kanna, Yamada's 'girlfriend' and Kozue Yoshikawa, a bulimic model who believes she is ugly despite her profession. This Japanese film is centred on a group of students who attend a high school next to a polluted river.
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