FilmRoar

Harsh lighting and uncomfortable moments punctuate what looks like a Gus Van Sant meets David Lynch movie, perhaps because director Tim Hunter worked on some episodes of “Twin Peaks” (1990). In River’s Edge (1986) Crispin Glover (Back to the Future (1985), Charlie’s Angels (2000)) and Keanu Reeves star as a couple of confused directionless teenagers trying to deal with the death of one of their friends a the hands of another member of their group. No one is sure what to do when Samson takes the group to the site where he left the body of Jamie. Layne (Glover) looses himself in a fantasy of saving Samson from “them” while Matt (Reeves) simply wonders about trying to loose himself in pot and beer. None of the kids are connected enough with themselves or reality to know what to feel about the murder. The only person who seems to have any idea of the impact of what has happened is a loner psychopath played by Dennis Hopper.

River’s Edge acts as a sort of magnifying glass for the archetypal characters personified by the lead actors. Crispin Glover emotes his weird mannerism in this movie more than I have ever seen in any of his other films. Reeves looks even more stoned, stupid and lost than he usually does, Hopper is his usual psychotic archetype. The movie is just disturbing enough to make it feel like a though-provoking drama, but just lost enough to keep the viewer an arms length away. As I have mentioned before I have a hard time caring about characters in movies that don’t seem to care about themselves. The distance that each of the dysfunctional characters in River’s Edge has from reality made it hard for me to relate or care about any one of them enough to get into this movie.