Take Me to the River

Yes, most movies coming out of Hollywood are formulaic, unoriginal and always follow a very restricted set of structures and stories. Yes, movies that are out of the mold, more subtle and that appeal to the intelligent participation of the viewers are to be cherished.

Still, I found Take me to the river way too cryptic. There aren't enough clues to hazard one or two solid interpretations. The storytelling is too open, and one leaves frustrated.

I like open-ended, I don't like non-stories.

On the plus side, the acting is very good, and the atmosphere is as electrical as it is sexually charged, for those who like suspense and do not dislike being taken a little outside their comfort zone.

In my opinion, with a little reworked screenplay, it could have been a very good, perhaps an outstanding film.

Let's just start with the ending:

Holy sh**. Well done on subverting expectations. I knew what I thought was happening (which is what made the characters' actions throughout the majority questionable and frustrating), so when the truth came out, it changed everything.

That said, the gambit was a bit too big and likely would turnoff other viewers. The fact that Ryder's family stayed and seemed to embrace abuse for so long was confusing and disappointing. I tend to give LGBTQ+ films the full watch, which is the only reason I watched the whole thing. If I didn't have that investment, I likely would have stopped.

The acting was well done. Tension was not lacking in this film, and I felt uncomfortable the entire time.

That said, I think the reveal needed to come sooner, or the buildup needed to be smoother. More hints would have built intrigue and a desire to understand why, but otherwise a great film.

A film that feels like it's good, but it's really rather insufferable at every turn, with characters doing really stupid, nonsensical things. It feels like a film that the director thought was really something quite special and that feeling makes you dislike it more. I guess it's not awful, and there's something to say for it always kind of remaining interesting, but that also makes you feel more cheated because it feels like it has a lot of things going on under the surface and it really doesn't. Definitely infuriating, no doubt. The acting is solid for the most part, although there is some broad characterization in some of the performances. Just not very recommended, in all honesty.

So weird...although all the reviewers that say it's a thinker are right but damn it's still not worth the time wasted watching it to find out the OLD SECRET fueling the extrenely annoying mom character's perma-almost cry face. Ick. Hated it. And no closure..

On the edge of my seat throughout. It really makes poignant commentary about family, cruelty & ignorance. Did not know where this was going to go.