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Rating:  - Much Ado About NOTHING
The cover and synopsis description looked like the film had all the elements to be interesting and thrilling. It was anything but. I literally kept falling asleep and had to keep rewinding to find out what I had "missed". When I finally found the supposed shattering explanations for the deaths ( of Abel's brother and Gus) a two second clip of events, I was so aggravated that I kept interrupting my sleep for NOTHING. I couldn't even think of an ending that boring or stupid if I had a gun to me head. The ending made the disjointed unbelievable never explained annoying story and one dimensional characters actually look good. Even the title makes no sense and has nothing to do with the movie. The whole film is nothing but boring loose ends that never get tied and makes you feel like two hours ( that feels like 12) was robbed from your life. I bought for a dollar and want my money back. Ed Burns is just a false lure, because he is usually great, but that makes this clunker even worse.
Rating:  - -------Kept me guessing until the end-------
This was a really good story and it's remained in the back of my mind since I watched it! Edward Burns, in the starring role, gives an outstanding performance as Detective Abel Grey.
The setting is a small New England town where a private prep school seems to be the dominating influcence in the area. When Gus Pierce, a young student is found dead, the questions start! Did he commit suicide, have an accident or was he murdered? The school officials, the police chief, the boy's best friend, and the boy's father all have their own theories and personal reasons to believe them. Detective Grey becomes very involved in solving the mystery. His older brother had also died mysteriously when he was a teenager. Grey, a small boy at the time, had never really resolved his personal loss.
A little romance is added to the film when Detective Grey and a teacher at the school meet and seem to have an instant connection. Their relationship provides a little lightness to the film.
I felt that The River King was well done and the filming and music lent a haunting beauty to the scenery. It was a perfect fit!
Rating:  - Town and gown
For over a century, the small New England town of Haddon has maintained an uneasy relationship with its prestigious prep school. Some of the coldness has been remedied by a huge donation made by the academy for a local health center. So when one of the scholarship students is found face up under the ice of the river, the police and town council are reluctant to investigate when it looks like an accident or suicide. But one cop, Abel Grey, cannot bring himself to sweep ant evidence under the Persian rugs, even when it appears likely that a group of the more elite boys may be behind the death.
Although the movie plot suffers from the absence of detail that illuminated the novel, it conveys an aura of secrecy and menace that is hard to resist. The performances by a relatively little known cast are understated, but what this film lacks in terms of excitement is provided by its visuals, atmosphere, and sometimes its silence. The snowy, icy northeastern winter and the dark, formal buildings are the perfect setting for this story, which is full of symbolism and strongly reminiscent of another movie in this genre, The Dead Poets Society. Schools will always have their misunderstood misfits and their cocky leaders with their followers, and the River King is yet another version of what may happen when they are all required to coexist.
Rating: - A very pleasant surprise from a very underated movie
I turned on my TV today and there was a picture of freshly fallen snow in a forest on a moonlit night. Not living in Canada or the woods of New England it was a beautiful image I don't get to see very often and it got my attention. The camera then pans over to Ed Burns as he is walking through the woods. This scene caught my interest but what is more impressive is that the movie was able to keep it throughout even though I had turned on my TV to watch something else. As other reviewers have said the movie is atmospheric and moody...things I'm usually not that big a fan of unless I'm in that mood myself. But this movie does it right and does it without being overbearing. Combined with the beautiful cinematography and subtle, nuanced acting this is a very enjoyable movie that will leave you thinking. A buy.
Rating: - Film Review
My first exposure to "The River King" was the last fifteen minutes on TV. Even this short exposure caused me to feel that everything about the flim (acting, music, pace) indicated that I must be watching a Canadian production, which it is. Having bought the DVD, it confirmed that I was watching a superbly crafted drama. Sadly, Hollywood can't seem to make many films that take their time to develop the characters without resorting to violence and special effects.
Edward Burns carries the film and, and finds that he must first resolve troublesome feelings regarding his older brother's death beforee he can know how to resolve the mysterious death of a student at a private school. The characters are engrossing, leaving me feeling that I was part of the drama. I highly recommend this film for people that don't need car chases and explosions to keep them entertained.
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