Author(s): George
Location: Atlanta
"The River"
Directed by: Terrence Malick
Written by: Terrence Malick
Music by: James Horner
Principal Cast:
Brad Pitt as Chris Davidson
Jennifer Connelly as Sara Jordan
Billy Zane as John Stock
Kate Beckinsale as Laura Davidson
Tagline: "A river separated them, but love brought them together"
Synopsis: Chris Davidson and his sister Laura move to the desert in search for gold. They are almost out of money and are desperate for something good. The year is 1910 and the Nevada desert is not a very inhabited place. Chris is on the run from the law which he remembers in flashbacks because he was framed for killing a man. They are safe for now. A year has passed and no gold can be found. Another person has moved to the desert on the other side of the river by his own home. Chris goes to meet them and meets John and his girlfriend Sara. They are here looking for oil. Chris decides to try looking for oil and finds a little bit, but at least he has some more money. Chris comes home one day and finds that Laura is coughing like mad. He looks at her handkerchief and sees blood on it. They are too far away from civilization for any help and she dies a few weeks later. John and Sara go and give Chris their condolences. John goes back to his home. Sara stays and talks with Chris for a while because her mother dies three years ago. She goes back to John's place a few hours later. Three days later a group of bandits come to raid their houses. They burn down John's house and wound him very badly. Chris fends off the bandits but they still steal some of his money and other possessions. Sara and John stay at Chris' house until John can build another house. He is determined to find oil. John finds that Sara and Chris are talking a lot to each other now, but thinks nothing of it. Two months later John strikes oil, a lot of it. Because of this he starts doing business deals with other people and starts to neglect Sara. Sara goes over to Chris and they start to meet each other on a regular basis. They start to fall in love. John starts to notice that Sara is gone a lot of the time and catches her with Chris. He goes over the river and challenges Chris to a fight. Chris says no but John tries to fight him anyway. After a brutal fist-fight, Chris ends up hurt and alone. Sara has to go back with John. Sara hates John now and leaves him and goes back to Chris. John is now very sad and turns to drinking. He is also very jealous of Chris. The group of bandits come back and wound Sara very badly. Chris decides to go over to John and ask him for his help to kill all of the bandits. John shuts the door in Chris' face but Chris tells John what happened to Sara. John decides to reconcile their differences and says yes. They find out where the bandits' hideout is and they go to kill them all. They ambush them and half of the gang is dead in two minutes. They both fight their hardest, the screen goes black. Sara has enough strength to go out now and sees something in the distance. Chris has returned, but not John.
What the press would say:
It is not often that Terrence Malick actually makes a film, but whenever he does it is amazing. With THE RIVER, he has made his ultimate masterpiece. The film has more in-depth characters than any of his other films, and the scenery is as awe-inspiring as ever. Brad Pitt is the driving force in this film and he does most of the voice-overs, which are always in Malick's movies. There is some of the film with only him in it and he gives a presence on the screen that makes you forget everything except him, and he holds you in his grasp. A third of the way through the film, we are introduced to Sara and John (Connelly and Zane). Connelly is, at first, hard to sympathize with, but as the film goes on, we end up liking her the best out of the three characters. While Pitt and Connelly are great, Billy Zane really is amazing. He really deserves more screen time and he is the ultimate anti - hero in the film. You feel sympathy for him through out the film, and he is the most thought-provoking character in the film. Even when he does go to his alcohol for comfort and make wrong decisions, we feel even more sympathy and compassion for him than we did in the beginning. Overall THE RIVER is more than a period piece. It has very developed characters and the most emotion shown in any of Malick's films. We now can say that Malick goes down as one of the greatest directors in the history of Cinema.
Nominations:
Best Picture
Best Actor (Pitt)
Best Actress (Connelly)
Best Supporting Actor (Zane)
Best Director (Malick)
Best Original Screenplay ( Malick)
Best Score
Best Cinematography
Best Sound
Best Make-Up
Location: Atlanta
"The River"
Directed by: Terrence Malick
Written by: Terrence Malick
Music by: James Horner
Principal Cast:
Brad Pitt as Chris Davidson
Jennifer Connelly as Sara Jordan
Billy Zane as John Stock
Kate Beckinsale as Laura Davidson
Tagline: "A river separated them, but love brought them together"
Synopsis: Chris Davidson and his sister Laura move to the desert in search for gold. They are almost out of money and are desperate for something good. The year is 1910 and the Nevada desert is not a very inhabited place. Chris is on the run from the law which he remembers in flashbacks because he was framed for killing a man. They are safe for now. A year has passed and no gold can be found. Another person has moved to the desert on the other side of the river by his own home. Chris goes to meet them and meets John and his girlfriend Sara. They are here looking for oil. Chris decides to try looking for oil and finds a little bit, but at least he has some more money. Chris comes home one day and finds that Laura is coughing like mad. He looks at her handkerchief and sees blood on it. They are too far away from civilization for any help and she dies a few weeks later. John and Sara go and give Chris their condolences. John goes back to his home. Sara stays and talks with Chris for a while because her mother dies three years ago. She goes back to John's place a few hours later. Three days later a group of bandits come to raid their houses. They burn down John's house and wound him very badly. Chris fends off the bandits but they still steal some of his money and other possessions. Sara and John stay at Chris' house until John can build another house. He is determined to find oil. John finds that Sara and Chris are talking a lot to each other now, but thinks nothing of it. Two months later John strikes oil, a lot of it. Because of this he starts doing business deals with other people and starts to neglect Sara. Sara goes over to Chris and they start to meet each other on a regular basis. They start to fall in love. John starts to notice that Sara is gone a lot of the time and catches her with Chris. He goes over the river and challenges Chris to a fight. Chris says no but John tries to fight him anyway. After a brutal fist-fight, Chris ends up hurt and alone. Sara has to go back with John. Sara hates John now and leaves him and goes back to Chris. John is now very sad and turns to drinking. He is also very jealous of Chris. The group of bandits come back and wound Sara very badly. Chris decides to go over to John and ask him for his help to kill all of the bandits. John shuts the door in Chris' face but Chris tells John what happened to Sara. John decides to reconcile their differences and says yes. They find out where the bandits' hideout is and they go to kill them all. They ambush them and half of the gang is dead in two minutes. They both fight their hardest, the screen goes black. Sara has enough strength to go out now and sees something in the distance. Chris has returned, but not John.
What the press would say:
It is not often that Terrence Malick actually makes a film, but whenever he does it is amazing. With THE RIVER, he has made his ultimate masterpiece. The film has more in-depth characters than any of his other films, and the scenery is as awe-inspiring as ever. Brad Pitt is the driving force in this film and he does most of the voice-overs, which are always in Malick's movies. There is some of the film with only him in it and he gives a presence on the screen that makes you forget everything except him, and he holds you in his grasp. A third of the way through the film, we are introduced to Sara and John (Connelly and Zane). Connelly is, at first, hard to sympathize with, but as the film goes on, we end up liking her the best out of the three characters. While Pitt and Connelly are great, Billy Zane really is amazing. He really deserves more screen time and he is the ultimate anti - hero in the film. You feel sympathy for him through out the film, and he is the most thought-provoking character in the film. Even when he does go to his alcohol for comfort and make wrong decisions, we feel even more sympathy and compassion for him than we did in the beginning. Overall THE RIVER is more than a period piece. It has very developed characters and the most emotion shown in any of Malick's films. We now can say that Malick goes down as one of the greatest directors in the history of Cinema.
Nominations:
Best Picture
Best Actor (Pitt)
Best Actress (Connelly)
Best Supporting Actor (Zane)
Best Director (Malick)
Best Original Screenplay ( Malick)
Best Score
Best Cinematography
Best Sound
Best Make-Up
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