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‘River’ Review: “A beautiful but frenetic and jumbled mess”

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The Sutherland family has two very famous faces; Donald Sutherland and Kiefer Sutherland; however, they aren’t the only members in the acting biz. New release River showcases the talent of one Rossif Sutherlandson of Donald and half-brother of Kiefer.

In River Rossif plays John Lake, an American volunteer doctor whom, whilst on a mandated rest break, becomes an unlikely fugitive after intervening in a sexual assault. Set around the Mekong River, the film flits from Laos to Thailand as Lake frantically tries to evade the law. Once on the run, the film races along at break-neck pace for the second third of the film, before coming to almost a complete stop for the final act.

Given that the story is set in a foreign land and our protagonist is American, with only a very basic understanding of the native tongue, there isn’t much in the way of dialogue or character interaction. This leaves the audience feeling as alienated as John. More frustratingly it leaves them questioning what in the Hell is going on. This is not a film that could ever be accused of overusing exposition. There is so little in the way of explanation surrounding what is happening that everything becomes so jumbled and muddled that the plot is completely lost. What plot we do see suffers very heavily from Mad Max: Fury Road syndrome, something which is beyond infuriating. The ending is easily one of the most unexpected, pointless, and tedious in recent history.

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Rossif does a great job however, with the limited amount of freedom he is given, though it is exceptionally hard to identify or root for John. Decisions and actions taken early on mean that you can’t really get behind our ‘hero’, as he technically might not be worthy of the accolade. In terms of his performance there are definite echoes of his father buried within.

The cinematography is pretty stylish and showcases a part of the world that we don’t usually see in the movies. Sadly though beautiful imagery and a strong central performance can’t save River from being a frenetic and jumbled mess.

River screens as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 25th June at 18:10. It arrives on digital platforms and DVD on 18th July. 

Kat Hughes is a UK born film critic and interviewer who has a passion for horror films. An editor for THN, Kat is also a Rotten Tomatoes Approved Critic. She has bylines with Ghouls Magazine, Arrow Video, Film Stories, Certified Forgotten and FILMHOUNDS and has had essays published in home entertainment releases by Vinegar Syndrome and Second Sight. When not writing about horror, Kat hosts micro podcast Movies with Mummy along with her five-year-old daughter.

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