River Wild, The (1994)

reviewed by
Ben Hoffman


                              THE RIVER WILD
                       A film review by Ben Hoffman
                        Copyright 1994 Ben Hoffman

If there currently is a more talented, more versatile actress than Meryl Streep, I have no idea who that might be. Be it SOPHIE'S CHOICE, DEFENDING YOUR LIFE, FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN, KRAMER VS KRAMER, SILKWOOD, MANHATTAN, or any of her other films, she is magnificent. It comes as no surprise then that in this film she is right on the believability target as the desperate mother and wife who steers a raft through the white-water rapids to save her family.

Gail (Streep), her husband, Tom (David Strathairn), and their son, Roarke (Joseph Mazzelllo), are white-water rafting on their vacation as David and Gail try to put the lost zest back into their marriage. Gail has spent her childhood on the river and knows every inch of it. She has even gone over the falls where the three rivers meet in a wicked, turbulent and very dangerous confluence ... but she was 18 then. Now, so many years later, she is called upon to save her family as she and her son race down the river in a raft with two robbers who are making an escape with a bagful of money and forcing Gail to get them to the border.

Kevin Bacon is properly mean as one of the robbers who befriends and charms young Roarke but who turns vicious when he kidnaps the family to aid in his escape.

The beautiful scenery, the rushing water with its churning waves, the raft going over several falls, and everyone hanging on for dear life as Gail maneuvers the raft around waves and boulders makes for an exceptionally fine thriller while all the time, Jerry Goldsmith's stirring music pumps up the action, keeping you glued to the edge of your seat. This is what action movies are all about.

Directed by Curtis Hanson who scared you with THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE. The script is by Denis O'Neill.

3.5 bytes
4 Bytes = Absolutely must see.
3 Bytes = Too good to be missed.
2 Bytes = So so.
1 Byte  = Save your money.
Ben Hoffman
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