A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT. Directed by Robert Redford; written by Richard Friedenberg; pro- duced by Robert Redford and Patrick Markcy for Columbia. Starring Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt and Tom Skerritt. Rated PG.
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The river of the title is a rushing mountain trout stream. But it would be more in keeping with the pace of the movie if it were meandering in the lowlands. With a deep undercurrent, certainly, but meandering nonetheless.
The story is a memoir narrated by an older brother, Norman (Sheffer), about his youth in prewar Montana. His father (Skerritt) is a minister and his younger brother Paul (Pitt) is charming and fun, but curiously self- destructive.
The three men are quite different in many ways, but they share a deep love of fly fishing in the gorgeous rivers near their home.
Now, I have never fly-fished, and since I know that some fishermen can get quite mystical about the experience, perhaps that's why I didn't ever really connect with this movie. It does have gorgeous cinematography, particularly the scenes involving the fishing.
The production design immerses a viewer completely in the ambience of 1920's semi-rural America. And the acting ranges from adequate to quite good. But not enough really happens in the story to keep the average, non-fisherman moviegoer interested.
The characterizations are somewhat puzzling, too. Norman is an odd combination of prudence and impulsiveness. The serious, careful side of him is expressed well by Sheffer's performance. But certain more daring actions, such as an early sequence when the two brothers shoot some very dangerous rapids in a "borrowed" boat, are difficult to understand.
Pitt, on the other hand, makes all of Paul's actions believable, and his charm holds the movie together as much as anything else. But we're given no compelling reasons for his lack of self-control and his increasingly risk-seeking behavior. A couple of examples of stubbornness from childhood aren't really enough to answer all our questions about this character.
A River Runs Through It has been compared to Redford's first directing effort, Ordinary People. And the two movies do deal with the same themes of family relationships and the difficulty of loving someone without understanding them.
But the earlier movie had me hooked from the opening credits and I was a sobbing wreck by the end. And while I enjoyed the scenery in the current film, it never managed to reel me in.
November 11, 1992