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USA 1992
Directed by
Robert Redford
123 minutes
Rated PG

Reviewed by
Bernard Hemingway
2.5 stars

River Runs Through It, A

This film opens with sepia-toned stills like a Ken Burns slice of Whitmanesque Americana and, somewhat surprisingly, stays in that mode for the ensuing 123 minutes as it tells the story of a pair of brothers growing up in rural Montana in the Coolidge years.

This elegaic tone is reinforced by Redford's (uncredited) liltingly literary narration, the contemporary-style jazz-oriented soundtrack, and in keeping with the central motif of fly-fishing, a purposively slow pace. All of which works well-for Burns in the documentary format but as dramatic fiction it's more illustrative than engaging (Philippe Rousselot's cinematography, unsurprisingly, won an Oscar) and dripping with picture-book nostalgia, right down to the carefully-placed-to-appear-casual props.

The narrative is structured around the three male characters, all of whom get too many close-ups looking pastorally and paternally concerned (The Reverend Maclean), or handsomely cheeky (in the case of his sons). Brad Pitt's laddish mannerisms are more at home in modern-day tales of urban lore than these kind of period pieces and whilst his name might have marquee value his performance only serves to dislodge the sense of time and place so assiduously sought-for by the production. It is, however, inoffensively wholesome and if you like Ken Burns's style, you might find it passably satisfying.

 

 

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