The River Wild

The River Wild – Former thrill-seeker, Gail, is looking forward to her family’s upcoming white water rafting trip, especially as she and her workaholic husband, Tom, have been drifting apart. Finding out Tom can’t make it, Gail refuses to cancel, so she and son, Roarke arrive and promptly meet the handsome and charming Wade. The two quickly warm to him but then Tom unexpectedly gets there and joins his family. Wade and his friend Terry begin to seem less friendly, but secluded from any help can the family survive the threats from both humans and nature?

The River Wild (1994) – Director: Curtis Hanson

Rating: 12

Running Length: 111 mins

Starring: Meryl Streep, David Strathairn, Kevin Bacon

Genre: Action, Thriller

REVIEW: ‘THE RIVER WILD’

What happens when an adventure seeker falls in love with an architect? Well, in ‘The River Wild’, after several years she begins to feel bored, lonely and frustrated. This isn’t helped by the architect who, while trying to provide for his family, becomes a workaholic and seems to have made no attempts to compromise with his wife’s spontaneous nature. Thus relatable marital problems are established early in The River Wild which drives the motivations of Gail (Meryl Streep) and Tom (David Strathairn). Tom’s inability to go on the trip that Gail and son, Roarke (Joseph Mazzelllo), have been looking forward to is the final straw and the relationship appears doomed. And, when the charming and spontaneous Wade (Kevin Bacon) catches Gail’s eye, her attentions are drawn to him giving her a glimpse of what she could have had with a fellow adventure seeker.

What ‘The River Wild’ does so well is a slow-burn that catches you unawares. It’s initially impossible not to like Wade. He’s fun, easy going and confident so Gail and Roarke’s natural chemistry with him is genuine. There are glimpses that things may not be what they seem but, as the audience tends to see these moments through Tom’s eyes – someone who is already jealous of Wade’s connection with Gail – it is understandable that Gail would brush off his (and our) concerns. The intensity of the uneasiness comes to a head with Gail being sure of Wade’s ill intentions but by then, is it too late? Tom, who starts off as a stereotype of a husband but human nature is at the core of this movie and with a relatively small cast, each person’s outer facade and inner personality can be explored.

Of course, what we’re really watching this movie for is spectacular scenes of nature at it’s most violent and when they happen they certainly don’t disappoint. It is also refreshing to see confident antagonists be genuinely terrified and deferring to Gail’s expertise as she yells, orders them about and chastises them in equal measure. They’re in charge while things are running smoothly but quickly have no control as soon as things get dicey! ‘The River Wild’ is an excellent movie that won’t leave you up a creek without a paddle.

CONTENT: IS ‘THE RIVER WILD’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

Tom chases after the family’s dog, Maggie, and comes across Terry. There are flies buzzing and it is heavily implied that he is standing over the body of a man he has just killed. However nothing graphic is shown.

Gail and Tom find some time to be alone and begin kissing, however they stop short of becoming physically intimate. Gail strips naked to bathe in a nearby pool but she soon becomes aware of a man watching her. She covers herself and tells him to leave, he stays for several more seconds then walks away. As this scene is at night, Gail’s nudity is mostly obscured.

The family is threatened by Wade and Terry, Wade slaps and then punches Tom to the ground and beats him. Wade then holds a gun to his head.

A man who has previously been shown to be a nice man is shot in the chest unexpectedly, as he is processing what is happening, he is pushed into the water and is swept away. Later it is mentioned that his body was found.

There are several intense and exciting scenes of white water rafting.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘THE RIVER WILD’ FOR KIDS?

‘The River Wild’ is exciting and scary in equal measure but the slow-burn nature may put some kids off. Due to this, we recommend this movie for kids aged 11 and over.

Violence: 3/5 (a man is slapped, beaten and threatened with a gun, a boy is also slapped hard)
Emotional Distress: 1/5 (some characters believe a loved one has been killed – although the audience knows this isn’t the case. A man goes to kill Maggie the dog)
Fear Factor: 3/5 (Wade and Terry become very threatening as the movie progresses. The white water rafting scenes become quite intense)
Sexual Content: 2/5
Bad Language: 2/5 (infrequent mild and moderate cursing)
Dialogue: 3/5 (believable threats of murder, including towards Roarke – a child)
Other Notes: Deals with themes of family, temptation, a workaholic parent, doing something for a loved one, manipulation and jealousy.

Words by Laura Record