Reach the Rock

Definitely worth the rental bucks, despite the occasional but forgivable schmaltz at points. Good soundtrack, evidence of John Hughes III and his friendship with Tortoise-guy John McEntire, and a very atmospheric, hazy look to the whole picture. Wonderful moments of quiet, and shots held longer than I'm used to seeing in a Hollywood film. Oddly casual, and quite enjoyable.

This movie proves that you don't need a high dollar cast and/or special effects, violence or sex to make a good film. This had none of those things, yet it held my attention by the actors' performances and the silence that was there, between the lines, so to speak. The attention to detail in minor points was also evident. After watching this film, I think I should look at other films produced by this team of dream makers. At one point, I commented to my viewing companion that this movie had the feel of an older David Lynch production right down to the music, i.e. Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. Thank you Mr. Hughes for such a delightful movie.

After having watched "Two for the money" and talked about Pacino and inspiration, I can't help but thinking how important something inspiring is in the film industry. Mostly in Hollywood, where inspiring films are locked in a shelf and only come out if the right people allows it and so on. There's still people who wants to leave a message to the viewer; people who has something to say.

A few years ago, a man named William Ryan directed his first and only film to date, called "Reach the rock". The opening shots of the movie and the movement of the camera let us know that we're going to see something common in detail; something simple but with a lot of meaning. "Reach the rock" can be a forgettable film if you don't pay close attention. Ryan cares for his simple environment, and he cares for the meaning and the message.

If you take a look at Ryan's producing credits, you'll see "Miracle on 34th Street" (one of my favorite films), a picture with message and meaning, listed. You are allowed to think that I'm talking a bunch of nonsense here, but I've got to make a stand for a movie like "Reach the rock"; a sensible, heartfelt tale that went completely unnoticeable when it came out.

At first I wanted to see this film because Alessandro Nivola was in it. Nivola, a talented but still not recognized performer (stole the show in the blockbuster "Goal!" and brought grace alongside Amy Adams to "Junebug"), stars as Robin, the most rebellious kid of a small town which is no longer a kid but still does the mischief a teenager does when he wants to get attention. Quinn (William Sadler), the town chief of police, blames him for the death of his nephew Danny, a friend of Robin who wanted more than the life expectations of a little town.

"No one cares about you no more, Robin", Quinn tells him as he puts him in a cell. Robin picks the phone and calls a girl, asking her to pick him up. This is Lise (Brooke Langton), the daughter of the most important man in town and once Robin's girlfriend. He loves her and she loves him too, but she went to the University and he never finished high school and still doesn't know what to do with his life. And what's the problem with that? Some people just don't know.

But he is clever, probably more than Quinn because he destroys various stores of the town and steals a police car in the same night as he is in jail without anyone being able to blame him. Lise goes to visit Robin and denigrates him morally. However, she still wants to do things with him but he is no fool. Meanwhile, Quinn looks at the pictures of his nephew's death. Robin remembers he was with Danny and he wanted to reach the rock; a big rock in the river that represented more than the small town life.

During that night, lots of revelations see the light of day and the viewer finds himself surprised more and more as the time passes. The screenplay by John Hughes is perfect, because there's a charm in the simplicity of the tale accompanied by Ryan's direction. There's a perfect mix of the drama and the comedy; there's a silence in the images that we get to hear because of the little number of actors and their more than good performances.

"Reach the rock" had a lot more to say…A lot of movies these days have; it's just that nobody sees it.

While 2/3 of the IMDb reviewers cast a very satisfactory and satisfied vote between 7 and 10, most professional critics unmercifully panned the movie… you cannot help wondering if we saw the same film… Unfortunately, the film had already several disadvantages: a somewhat cryptic title which failed to attract attention, no stars, no backing from the distributor; so, if you look at the gross turnover in movie-halls, the result is a sheer catastrophe…. It is a pity, as the film is highly enjoyable - though unusual in many respects: it combines extremely funny scenes with very serious ones; there are practically two settings only: the street at night and the jail; and the cast is limited to seven players: two cameos (wizened Richard Hamilton, and intriguing Norman Reedus as the drowned man), two supporting ones (lovely Karen Sillas and seldom-seen Bruce Norris as the pair looking unsuccessfully for privacy); and three main roles : reliable William Sadler, excellent as the police sergeant; bland-faced promising Alessandro Nivola as the hero, and strikingly beautiful (and good actress) Brooke Langton, climaxing the film. Like many others, I came across the film on TV by chance, – but probably in a shortened version: I witnessed Nivola setting up an intricate booby-trap with a paint-tin and the town-clock… but nothing came out of it. Missed a good laugh, for sure….

Without seeing the opening title of the movie, the first thing that comes to mind is 'The Breakfast Club'. I just knew that John Hughes must be in it somewhere. After a few typing of the keyboard, i found out that the movie's written by him. Well, of course, who else could write a movie with at most 10 people in it without making it less great?

My opinion is, if it's raining outside, or you've got nowhere to go, dont hesitate to rent this movie. It's a very cool and enjoyable movie to watch.