River's Edge DVD (Region 1)

7	Listal rating

Manufacturer : MGM (Video & DVD)
Release date : 23 January 2001
Number of discs : 1
EAN : 9780792848158
UPC : 027616857712

Drama (2), Crispin Glover (2), Keanu Reeves (1), 1980's (1)

Description

DescriptionBased on the horrifying real-life murder of a young California girl, this "powerful portrait" (Newsweek) of deadly, disaffected teens stars Keanu Reeves (The Matrix), Crispin Glover (Charlie's Angels), Ione Skye Leitch (One Night Stand), Daniel Roebuck (Final Destination) and Dennis Hopper (Ed TV) in a tale that is "chilling t Description
Based on the horrifying real-life murder of a young California girl, this "powerful portrait" (Newsweek) of deadly, disaffected teens stars Keanu Reeves (The Matrix), Crispin Glover (Charlie's Angels), Ione Skye Leitch (One Night Stand), Daniel Roebuck (Final Destination) and Dennis Hopper (Ed TV) in a tale that is "chilling to witness" (The New York Times). On the bank of a river lies the naked body of a brutally murdered young girl. Atthe nearby high school, Samson (Roebuck) brags to Matt (Reeves) and his friends about how he killedher. Drunk and stoned, the doubting teens trudge to the river and discover that he isn't lying. Andoddly, they decide to protect Samson behind a loyal wall of secrecy. Tormented with guilt, Matt questions their silence and suddenly finds himself in a troubling position: should he do what he thinksis right, or should he keep quiet and live with this demon for the rest of his life?

This disturbing little film is even more unsettling when you think about the fact that it's based on an actual case. Troubled teen Samson murders his girlfriend Jamie for no particular reason, leaves her nude body by the river's edge, then brings his friends to see the corpse to prove he did it. They look at her, prod her, and talk about her, but no one seems to manage to feel anything. River's Edge is ultimately a study of kids who are so numbed by drugs, casual parenting, and the ever present threat of nuclear war that not even death can get a rise out of them. A young Keanu Reeves is surprisingly poised as Matt, the one character with a few shreds of empathy left. His quiet performance is powerful enough to hold the audience's interest even with Crispin Glover and Dennis Hopper both being as crazy as they can be. Glover steals much of the movie with his whacked-out performance as Layne, the group's leader. He undercuts his teen alpha-male power with a nervous giggle, and the spin he puts on much of his dialogue manages to be scary and funny at the same time--after hiding Jamie's body for Samson, he complains: "You'd think I'd at least rate a Michelob!" River's Edge is not necessarily a pleasant movie, but it is certainly a compelling one. --Ali Davis

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