A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT

MOVIE REVIEW BY JON NELSON

This was one of the most acclaimed movies of 1992, featuring a skilled cast including a young Brad Pitt and veteran actor Tom Skerritt.   The movie has received numerous positive reviews from such noteworthy writers as Roger Ebert, James Plath and others.  This is a story based on a book written by Norman MacLean about his idyllic youth in Montana.  Craig Sheffer plays Norman, and Pitt stars as his younger, more carefree and self-indulgent younger brother.

Despite the reviews, it is hard to get excited about a movie whose main theme is based on fly fishing.  The basic premise is that fly fishing is sort of like a microcosm of life itself: if you can master fly fishing, you can master your life.  The premise is more than a bit of a stretch, and it’s difficult to see how the lesson the movie seeks to instill in its viewers actually succeeds in doing so.

The plot is thin, to say the least.  It basically shows the two brothers as boys, young men, and finally Norman in his old age.  While some may enjoy the movie as a mood piece, there is just not enough of a plot to sustain interest, and none of the characters are engaging to any extent.  In addition, the death of the younger brother was treated in an almost casual manner, and one is left with the impression that this was added to the film almost as an afterthought.

I must also point out as a traditional jazz enthusiast, that this movie also does what so many other movies do in attempting to re-create the musical atmosphere of the nineteen twenties: it offers 1950s style dixieland revival music rather than anything resembling the real article; most 1920s jazz has a less-refined, harder drive than the more polished style from three decades later.

In summary, there is little to recommend this movie.  The acting is fine, but doesn’t rise to the level of spectacular because the plot likewise fails to do so.  On a scale of one to ten, I would rate this a three.