River's Edge
RIVER'S EDGE (15)
D: Tim Hunter
Palace/Hemdale (Sarah Pillsbury & Midge
Sanford)
US 1986
99 mins
Drama
W: Neal Jimenez
DP: Frederick Elmes
Ed: Howard Smith & Sonya Sones
Mus: Jurgen Knieper
Crispin Glover (Layne), Keanu Reeves (Matt), Ione Skye
(Clarissa), Daniel Roebuck (Samson 'John' Tollette), Joshua Miller (Tim), Dennis Hopper (Feck)
A unique indie from the mid-1980's in stark contrast
to the John Hughes style teen movies which were popular at the time.
The peculiar storyline follows a high school
delinquent who brazenly murders his girlfriend and informs his stoner pals who all act apathetic to the situation.
Keanu Reeves demonstrates why he was such a good
choice for the Bill & Ted movies, Crispin Glover is completely OTT as a paranoid slacker, Dennis Hopper is great as an ex-biker turned local drug dealer and Ione Skye is quite
resplendent as one of the few female characters represented in the film. She's also the standout performer in the film and it's a huge shame that her career never really took off
following her fine work in this. She did go on to star in films like Say Anything and The Rachel Papers, but rarely got the chance to play characters with the depth which she does here.
Still, she's an underrated talent.
6/10
