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"River's Edge" (1986) was based on a true story that took place in 1981: a high school student murders his girlfriend and tells his friends at school about it; the group goes to view the body in the woods but they're so apathetic and spiritually bereft that no one informs the authorities and the body just lies there for a couple of days. Daniel Roebuck plays the lumbering murderer and his clueless friends are played by Keanu Reeves, Crispin Glover and Ione Skye, amongst others; Dennis Hopper is on hand as an aged biker/hippie.

What struck me about the film was how much it reminded me of real life experiences, both as a youth growing up and also as an adult dealing with youths. Here are some of the things in the movie that I've also experienced:

• Kids as young as 11-13 obsessed with "partying." - The idolization of drugs (pot, pills, etc.) and the party lifestyle above all else. - Kids, that young and older, out all night doing whatever (partying, having sex, crime). - Parents who aren't much more than phantoms in their kid's lives and therefore allow such. - Older, crazy dudes that the youths sometimes hang with, get drugs from or look up to. - The group dynamics of such youths and the unwritten law of not being a "narc." - Killing a friend and leaving the body where it lies for a couple of days.

This was (and is) the downside of the 60's revolution -- a somewhat sad emptiness in people who have lost their innate moral compass with the passing of religious faith as they desperately search for meaning or cause in the new secular frontier (Layne's "cause" in the film is rigid loyalty to John, since he had "his reasons" for murdering the girl, and covering up his crime). Most of the characters are neither likable nor unlikable; they're just human beings trying to live and find meaning or fulfillment with the hand they've been dealt.

The film runs 99 minutes and was shot in California (Sacramento, La Crescenta and Los Angeles).

BOTTOM LINE: Glover steals the show with an over-the-top (yet believable) performance in a film that details the dark side of coming-of-age in modern America. It plays like a mid-80's version of Coppola's "The Outsiders" (1983), which was about early 60's youths; note, for instance, the seemingly incongruent melodramatic score (there's also a great metal soundtrack, but the songs are merely soundbites). People who have grown up in loving homes with positive role models & friends probably won't like "River's Edge." They'll likely think it's trash. However, those who grew up in the dysfunctional insanity depicted in the film understand it fully. And many of us are doing everything in our power to prevent our kids and other youths from experiencing it.

GRADE: B+

Less Than Zero could have been the 80s movie that reveals teenage apathy in its most extreme form had they actually stuck to the damn book. But, where they hadn't, this movie presents does the job, and leaves you with the creepiest feeling when its all over in ways not done until the late nineties with Larry Clark's movies 'Kids' and 'Bully.'

Societal outcast teens are faced with a rather curious dilemma (they don't treat it much like one) when their estranged friend (Daniel Roebuck) boasts to them that he killed a teenage girl near the river's edge in their suburban town. Keanu Reeves may be the only civilized character among the bunch, the only one willing to exhibit any sort of conscience, anyway, while the others either don't do anything about the girl's death or want to help their friend hide the body.

I don't know who is more sick in this film--Crispin Glover--who becomes nearly obsessed and quite paternal in trying to protect the friend and hide the crime by smuggling him out of the state. Dennis Hopper, an on-edge drug dealer (who clings to a female blowup doll) that befriends the teens (as a dealer, of course) and suddenly becomes involved in the events. Or, Josh Miller, who plays Reeve's little brother, Tim. He appears to be the most apathetic of them all, at least until his emotional breakdown at the end. It is definitely not peppy 80s teen fare, obviously. And certainly makes the point strikingly clear about the serious detachment these kids deal with (despite a bizarre series of events) thanks to many great performances all around (even Reeves proved some acting capability).

Help yourself to a comedy to recover if it rocks you too hard.

"River's Edge" is a very perplexing movie. The most striking feature of the movie seems to be the universally apathetic characters. In the opening sequence we learn that Samson, a very large, uncontrollable teenager has killed Jamie, a member of his group of stoner friends from school, and left her naked body by the river's edge.

While there are many movies about heartless killers, Samson is fully realized, such as he is, and I was struck by the utter lack of any rime or reason to his actions, any "Hollywood" touches to humanize him or explain what he did. He killed a girl and really doesn't care. There was no planning, before or after, no moralizing, at most he is amused by it.

Samson (also called John because of his last name) tells his friends, who display apathy that might be shocking. The only one who seems to care is Layne (Crispin Glover) who wants to cover it up so his friend doesn't get arrested and executed. But the rest don't really seem too shaken by it, they don't get mad at John, they even justify his actions, and they certainly don't go to the police right away.

River's Edge works because there is no clear message. I'm sure many people can find one in it, but it's definitely not a movie that hits you over the head with some moral. It presents some very strangely behaving people, who are often over the top but depicted with just enough realism that you have to take what is going on seriously. The fun in this movie is that you get to float around in this shockingly apathetic teenage wasteland for an hour and a half, and see what you can make of it.

The main problem I had with the movie was the direction and soundtrack, which coincide to create awkward transitions and moments where "River's Edge" feels like a crappy low-budget flick you'd find being mocked on MST3K. None of the dialogue or plot falls into that category, but it's the transitions between scenes, where they often just kind of end unimpressive and cut to the next one.

The soundtrack also kept drawing me away from the movie. It includes some edgy metal for 1986, which is perfectly fine for the movie, but it doesn't do much with it, and instead most of the music is an orchestral soundtrack. Parts of it are very atmospheric and perfect for the movie's feel, but at other times it is hitting cliché film score notes during tense scenes and really seeming quite cheesy. I contrasted this movie with "Picnic at Hanging Rock", a spiritual cousin of "River's Edge" I would say, where the score was so utterly perfect at always building the mood, and really think River's Edge could have been an incredible movie with a score that consistent.

River's Edge isn't perfect. I had honestly never even heard of it until I saw it mentioned as a superior film with the same basic themes as "Bully" by Larry Clark. I am very glad I rented it, and am a bit surprised I'd never heard of it. It deserves to be better known. It has some flaws and not everyone will like it, but there is a lot of depth here, and of course its cast includes several famous people in early or debut roles.

Tim Hunter made a masterful film in River's Edge, one of the most serious and thoughtful dramatic studies of teenage life I have ever seen. So many elements of the film have a cult following (chief among them the performances of Crispin Glover as Layne and Dennis Hopper as Feck) that I will comment on my own personal favorite moment: the harrowing sex scene between Matt (Keanu Reeves) and Clarissa (Ione Skye). Entwined in sleeping bags with a six pack while police search for their good friend, the two try to find respite while the overwhelming events of the day coil into a vacuum of solitude and silence experienced by children who have sex without knowing each other or themselves. Some will argue that Hunter is heavy-handed with the close association of sex and death, but to see Matt writhe helplessly under Clarissa while elsewhere John (Daniel Roebuck) describes to Feck what it was like to strangle his girlfriend always sends chills up and down my spine.

This film reminded me a lot of Bully (2001) and Mean Creek (2004). That should have been the other way around, but it just so happens those movies crossed my path before River's Edge did.

The films are similarly centered around oblivious teenagers. At first, you might wonder: no one can be that stupid. But it just happens these films are (more or less) based on true events. Lots of stupid people. Great movie.

Samson 'John' Tollet (Daniel Roebuck) is a strange guy. But nobody foresaw that he would kill his girlfriend Jamie. He left her naked body on the river's edge. When he tells everybody, nobody believed him. When people actually saw the body, everybody must deal with it in their own way.

The friends are all heavy metal listening slacker disaffected teens. Keanu Reeves plays the nice guy Matt. He's conflicted about Jamie's death. He knows something is morally wrong but he's unable to voice it at first. Keanu is able to inhabit this role perfectly. His uncomfortableness with Layne afterwards is amazing. Ione Skye plays Clarissa the sweet girl who just can't get up the courage to call the police. But it's Crispin Glover who steals the show playing Layne. He is the complete amoral weirdo. It's almost as if he enjoys the rush. It's more than a simple great movie. It's actually giving a slice of humanity and inhumanity without being preachy. It is unique.

I can remember a college professor commenting as to how disturbing this film was, reflecting the apathy of adolescents (this was before Generation "X").

In a way, most of us are products of the same consumer culture; these high school kids spend their time drinking, getting high and wondering what to do about the body left on a riverbank.

What would they do today? Would things be different?. Some very important questions. There are some excellent scenes with Keanu Reeves, and the dysfunctional family he lives with; his 11 year old brother going out to get wasted; the mother has no idea what to do- spends her time drinking with her boyfriend.

This film was a bit before its time in that it addresses the problems in lower class American society; these kids had no outlet; what is available for them in this dirt-water town? . All in all a few interesting social commentaries are presented, and there are no solutions. 9/10.

Pot-seeking pre-teen Joshua Miller (as Tim) throws his sister's doll into the river while Daniel Roebuck (as Samson) howls and smokes a cigarette, after killing Danyi Deats (as Jamie). The doll washes away, but the naked young woman stays by the "River's Edge", for any passerby to see. Viewing the dead body are a group of twenty-something teenagers, mostly classmates of the naked corpse. Stoners Keanu Reeves (as Matt) and Crispin Glover (as Layne) are found most camera-worthy. The friends wonder what to do about their guilty, beer-guzzling killer friend.

Veteran-in-the-cast Dennis Hopper (as Feck) keeps the youngsters' heads fed. Mr. Hopper once killed a woman. He lives with one of those life-sized sex dolls, with a mouth apparently ready for action. Ione Skye Leitch (as Clarissa) is a more living doll, and she is waiting for Reeves to kiss her. Their copulation is notably cross-cut with a flashback to the opening strangulation. An actual teenager, in her first feature role, Ms. Leitch is the daughter of sixties-singer Donovan. Make other quirky connections on your own.

You can read a lot into the movie, or not, depending on your mood. Some of the characters' backgrounds may be a little too subtle. Most obviously, the killer teen was teased; note his weight, attitude, and "toilet"-connected nickname. Some of the characters' relationships and motivations are too vaguely defined, but the cast certainly keeps the material interesting; and, director Tim Hunter, photographer Frederick Elmes, and writer Neal Jimenez are obviously skilled.

******* River's Edge (8/27/86) Tim Hunter ~ Keanu Reeves, Crispin Glover, Dennis Hopper, Joshua Miller

I just saw this movie for the second time. I first saw it back in the mid-90's as a Vanguard Video selection. It has retained it power.

It is interesting from several aspects. One is that it is based on a true story. Two is it is a launching pad for two interesting actors: Keanu Reeves and Crispin Glover. And three, it has Dennis Hopper in one of his better social misfit/psychotic character roles.

The movie is also a study in the way people act in different settings. You have characters in one-on-one, family, peer group, school, general society settings, etc. The story does well in demonstrating how a person will act in each setting.

I wish I could find the details of the actual murder to compare to the movie. I saw a short bit that indicated it occurred in California and that several schoolmates were taken to view the corpse.

This is a good choice for a rainy night video rental. Be prepared to feel unsettled at the end.

A teenage film about angst, friendship, loyalty and growing-up… but this isn't a happy outing on its part due to the circumstances and life-changing dilemmas surrounding the premise. What eventuates is quite numbing, haunting and downright cold. However I was expecting something a little more powerful and effective and while engrossing and unforgettable it didn't entirely stir up much in the way of emotions. The performances are reasonably a mixed bag, but there's a brutal honesty to them all. Dennis Hopper and especially Daniel Roebuck are amazing… Crispin Glover eccentrically over does it and Keanu Reeves' dead as wood turn seems to pay off in his custom slacker role. Joshua John Millar is quite good and so is Ione Skye. Jim Metzler chimes in with a short, but highly engaging performance. The story is dramatically confronting, character-laced and harrowing in its eventual breakdown where it infuses a gritty and painful punch. Jürgen Knieper's swirling music score is simmering with anxiety, tension and wonder as the morals and commitments are tested and learnt.

What a bunch of dysfunctional dead heads: all total believers in situational ethics with lives heading in a downward, out of control spiral. No wonder either with the parents some of them had. A great look at what a bizarre zoo our society has become. Glover was superb as the the manic, fiercely loyal pack leader.

River's edge is not a PLEASANT film to watch but it is an incredible one. Having viewed it many years ago I truly think it would still have the ability to shock were it to be re released or remade or something. Perhaps no movie ever made has captured the essense of young suburban inertia like this distrubing frightening movie. Given that this is based on a true story it is even more disturbing. Very well acted and just UNPLEASANT at many times to watch but also a little known masterpiece and a truely important film. Should be a mandatory to watch shown nationwide in all highschools. Fantastic.

Keanu was 22 and second billed! But for low a budget film great cinematography, direction and GREAT cast! Anything with Dennis Hopper rocks on of course, RIP Dennis! And when Dennis did this movie (1986) he was 50yo. Remember he played next to Jimmy Dean, Liz Taylor and Rock Hudson thirty years earlier (1955) when he was Keanu and Crispin's age in academy award winner "Giant"!

After reading some of these reviews, it is apparent that some have missed the point. What is great about this film (here comes the point), what is incredible about this film, what is astonishing about this film is that there is no proselytizing. There is no preaching. There is no preaching. There is no preaching. Life goes on. It is a masterpiece in letting an audience think for its collective self. These are just kids doing what kids do - without consciousness. We all went to school with kids like these. We are being numbed by fiction-/movie-/tv-/news-based reality/invention.

Feck's (Dennis Hopper the great) girlfriend alone and his relationship with her is worth the price of renting this movie.

There have been few movies before or since that measure up to the intelligence of this film. AMEN.

I don't entirely know what to make of this film. On the one hand, I can see that it's an examination of teen apathy, social ambivalence and post-familial-dysfunction angst etc etc but it's also really rather silly in terms of improbable plot and ridiculous unlikely overblown characters, but apparently it's based on a true story so perhaps not. One young man (John - Daniel Roebuck) kills his girlfriend without emotion or regret, he is psychopathic, just intent on causing mayhem for no apparent reason an plays detached, dangerous and scary brilliantly. He is seen by a twelve year old boy, Tim, and both of them brag about the killing, and knowing where the body is. There are shades of Stand by Me, a coming of age journey in the film - the characters learn about themselves through the experience of seeing the body and also the viewer is narrated to via speeches by both the school teacher and Matt, to explain the troubles witnessed in the film. The acting is in part dreadful and brilliant, and with Crispin Glover's performance as Layne I'm not sure whether he was bad or brilliant; he plays one of the friends who is desperate to be part of the group - the leader - and tries to hold them all together, afraid of being on his own, but overplayed in a character so apart from his friends, addled, druggie, like he's method acting a caricature of a stoner drop-out teen, and just flailing around in exaggerated gestures. Joshua Miller, as the twelve year old Tim, younger brother of Reeves' Matt, is cartoonish, androgynous and even camp, and he is performing acting by numbers. The film reminds me in places of Lost Boys but at least that had the guts to say "Hey! This IS a comedy!" but River's Edge is stuck with trying really hard to be a drama and I'm not sure it works without the comedy that some of the hammy acting, and silly one-liners, Dennis Hopper's character Feck with his inflatable girlfriend and general silliness adds but detracts from the horror of the story. Dennis Hopper was amazing, hardly surprising, in his delivery and was one of the actors that stood out and above the rest as "real" rather than "acting." Keanu's Matt is the quiet, relatable, real character and he plays son of dysfunctional family, school drop-out, even father and dominant male figure in places to his sister and mother, and demonstrates the complex and above-age roles that some young people have to play behind the scenes - they are labelled as "difficult" but there's more to them. Perhaps the same with Crispin's Layne; he looks like a waste of space and an unphlegmatic idiot; but he stands up to the situation and standing by John (Roebuck). Hopper's schizophrenic-type delusion are brilliant. For me, however, Reeves stands out, his gentle delivery and subtleness perfect for the troubled and nervous Matt, against Ione Skye's Clarissa he is shy and easily led, she seems to deal with the death of her friend by throwing herself at Matt - well, who can blame her really? - 22yo Reeves was stunning and appeared like a different creature compared to everyone else's look. He, Hopper and Roebuck stood out as the actors that blended into the screenplay, their character's environment and the plot whereas the other's stuck out as trying to do that.

It's a good film. You can take it as a dark comedy or you can read more into it. I'm not sure whether you should read into this, or whether it is just what it is but as 80s films go it's a bit deeper and less fluffy than most of them, and surprised me with how watchable it is and how it is still relatable and up to date.

A movie starring Keanu Reeves, and he isn't the worst actor in it. Crispin Glover's performance killed any chance this movie had of being watchable. He's character is incredibly annoying and can not be taken seriously, although it's meant to be.

Acting bad all round. Dennis Hopper disappointing. The blow up doll gave the best performance.

Although based on a true story, the plot went nowhere. Boring and pointless. Inspired zero sympathy or empathy. I assume we are supposed to feel sorry the these kids, but they are all complete morons and delinquents.

I do not recommend wasting your time on this.