The River

Rating:
Summary: a populist statement
Review: The movie is very good, not excellent. Spacek and Gibson are both lovable, in different ways of course. Historically the movie is kind of flimsy. There are things in it that could be the 1930s, other things that are more like the 1980s and 1990s, and the blend is not convincing. We are supposed to see a kind of merging of oppressed factory workers and oppresed rural folk, 'the people' against heartless forces that do not respect their dignity. Dramatically, the film works, especially the epic struggle against floodwaters.

Rating:
Summary: Melvin Gibson In A Stunning Departure From Stereotype
Review: The River was an unbelievable histrionic stretch for thespian Melvin Gibson. His complex portrayal of a struggling taciturn farmer required him to be absolutely expressionless, monotone, monosyllabic (lots of grunting) and emotionally flat throughout the entire movie -- and, by golly, he pulled it off like a real trouper. The essence of Melvin's performance in The River was this: He was acting as though he was NOT ACTING. He was, in fact, pretending to be that egregiously bland actor whose name I can't even remember (who starred with J. Lo in The Wedding Planner, Connor McMathews or something like that) and deliver a complete non-performance -- it was Oscar-quality, genius-level non-acting. Die-hard fans will recognize and applaud his relentless, painful efforts to similarly not do any acting in all of his subsequent films, but the fact is, Melvin Gibson's non-acting performance pinnacle was, quite simply, The River.

Rating:
Summary: Melvin Gibson In A Stunning Departure From Stereotype
Review: The River was an unbelievable histrionic stretch for thespian Melvin Gibson. His complex portrayal of a struggling taciturn farmer required him to be absolutely expressionless, monotone, monosyllabic (lots of grunting) and emotionally flat throughout the entire movie -- and, by golly, he pulled it off like a real trouper. The essence of Melvin's performance in The River was this: He was acting as though he was NOT ACTING. He was, in fact, pretending to be that egregiously bland actor whose name I can't even remember (who starred with J. Lo in The Wedding Planner, Connor McMathews or something like that) and deliver a complete non-performance -- it was Oscar-quality, genius-level non-acting. Die-hard fans will recognize and applaud his relentless, painful efforts to similarly not do any acting in all of his subsequent films, but the fact is, Melvin Gibson's non-acting performance pinnacle was, quite simply, The River.

Rating:
Summary: The River
Review: This is one of Mel Gibson's best movies. It is a movie about an extremely hard-working man who will work at anything he can to save his land. His wife, played by Cissy Spacek, tries to manage the land and take care of her kids, while worrying if they're going to lose everything they have.

A greedy land barron, played by Scott Glenn, wants that land and he wants Cissy, too. She had turned him down years before to marry Gibson, and he has hated Gibson ever since.

When the rains come and the river overruns its banks, the whole town comes together to try and save Gibson's land from flooding. It is a great movie about teamwork, and I would recommend it to everybody who likes Mel Gibson and Cissy Spacek.

Rating:
Summary: One of Gibson's best!
Review: This is one of Mel Gibson's best movies. It is a movie about an extremely hard-working man who will work at anything he can to save his land. His wife, played by Cissy Spacek, tries to manage the land and take care of her kids, while worrying if they're going to lose everything they have.

A greedy land barron, played by Scott Glenn, wants that land and he wants Cissy, too. She had turned him down years before to marry Gibson, and he has hated Gibson ever since.

When the rains come and the river overruns its banks, the whole town comes together to try and save Gibson's land from flooding. It is a great movie about teamwork, and I would recommend it to everybody who likes Mel Gibson and Cissy Spacek.