By Todd Garbarini
I have always
loved movies that take place outdoors in the wilderness ever since seeing Ken
Annakin’s The Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
at a matinee showing in 1980 (when theaters still did that sort of thing) and
John Boorman’s Deliverance (1972),
though I will admit that the latter, although beautifully lensed by Vilmos
Zsigmond, is enough to make anyone want to stay indoors! Matthew Leutwyler’s The River Why (2010), filmed in Portland, Oregon in the summer of
2008, is the film version of David James Duncan’s 1983 novel of the same name
and the beautiful outdoors figures prominently in the film. Essentially, this is a coming-of-age story about
a young man named Gus Orviston (Zach Gilford of Larry Fessenden’s The Last Winter and television’s
"Friday Night Lights"), who is at his wits end when it comes to the constant
bickering of his parents, played effectively by William Hurt and Kathleen
Quinlan, the former of whom refers to Gus by his full name Augustine. He decides that rather than whine and
complain, he will actually do something about it. His answer is to move to a small cabin by
himself so he can concentrate on fishing, something that he loves to do. He creates an “ideal schedule†that consists
of eating, sleeping and fishing. This
schedule is more or less a result of tunnel vision as he
believes that this is all that he wants in life. As the days progress, he wants a stronger
connection to the people around him, especially with the young and initially
elusive fisherwoman named Eddy (played by the luminous Amber Heard of 2010’s The Rum Diaries) who catches his eye and
his heart.
The River Why
is a slow-moving and relaxing viewing and requires patience to stick with
it. Viewers used to the slam-bang
editing that has become the norm in Hollywood productions will more than likely
be bored, but for other viewers the film will be a rewarding experience. The story is a character-driven drama rather
than plot-driven, and there are solid supporting performances from William
Devane as a newspaper journalist and Dallas Roberts as a philosopher who gets
Gus to look at The Big Picture.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray, the latter of course is the
way to see this film as the scenery, not to mention Ms. Heard, is sumptuous in
high definition.
Click here to order on Blu-ray