1984 is known as the year that three big-profile films about the struggles of farming in America's heartland hit the big screen and brought the lead actress in each movie a Best Actress Oscar nomination. The most well known is "Places in the Heart," which was also nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and brought Sally Field the second of her two Best Actress Academy Award wins. The other two were "Country," starring Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard, and "The River," starring Sissy Spacek and Mel Gibson. I've not seen "Country," but "Places in the Heart" is far superior to "The River" in just about every conceivable way.
"The River" is like Hollywood's best guess at what struggling farm life would look like. I've never seen a rural farmer with the beautifully chiseled and lit looks and perfectly coiffed hair of Mel Gibson, but hey, maybe they're out there somewhere. The film becomes a pedestrian black and white face off between the virtuous farmers and the evil corporations who seek to undermine them, represented in this movie by Scott Glenn, who, if he had a mustache, would have been twirling it. Glenn never received a single Oscar nomination over the course of his entire career, but he deserved one for this film for keeping a straight face while playing this cartoonish character, if for no other reason.
The film kept me moderately engaged for most of its running time, but it lost me completely with its hokey, cornball ending accompanied by one of John Williams' more overwrought scores.
Spacek is decent, but I'm not sure I saw anything necessarily Oscar worthy about her role or performance. In addition to her nomination, the film also scored nominations for its cinematography, score, and sound.
Grade: B-
"The River" is like Hollywood's best guess at what struggling farm life would look like. I've never seen a rural farmer with the beautifully chiseled and lit looks and perfectly coiffed hair of Mel Gibson, but hey, maybe they're out there somewhere. The film becomes a pedestrian black and white face off between the virtuous farmers and the evil corporations who seek to undermine them, represented in this movie by Scott Glenn, who, if he had a mustache, would have been twirling it. Glenn never received a single Oscar nomination over the course of his entire career, but he deserved one for this film for keeping a straight face while playing this cartoonish character, if for no other reason.
The film kept me moderately engaged for most of its running time, but it lost me completely with its hokey, cornball ending accompanied by one of John Williams' more overwrought scores.
Spacek is decent, but I'm not sure I saw anything necessarily Oscar worthy about her role or performance. In addition to her nomination, the film also scored nominations for its cinematography, score, and sound.
Grade: B-