End of Innocence

I had gone past this movie at Blockbuster, never giving it a second look. Then one night while I was channel surfing, I stumbled across it on one of the movie channels. It was half way over, but I watched it anyway. I liked what I did get to see, so I went back to the video store and rented it. It turned out to be a pretty good movie after all.

The plot is good and it features a talented young cast, particularly Eastman as the simple-minded abused "Aaron." Eastman is probably best remembered (if at all) as "Joey" from A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3 & 4. BLUE RIDGE FALL definitely showcases his talent as an actor. The film also features a distinguished supporting cast, including Amy Irving as Aaron's battered mother, Tom Arnold as his abusive father & Chris Isaak as the sheriff.

I found the most disturbing thing about this movie is not the fact that Aaron murders his father, but that the entire town, including Aaron's friends and the law, seemed to know about the violence in his home, yet did nothing about it. Although Aaron's mother seems to bear the brunt of her husband's physical abuse, Aaron suffers more mental and emotional abuse at the hands of his father (as well as getting hit), which is just as painful and destructive as any physical blow. His only escape is through his drawings and his friendships with Shane, Taz & especially Danny, the golden boy high school football star.

BLUE RIDGE FALL is definitely worth renting. It's a good movie about loyalty, friendship & the effects that family violence and abuse can have.

Generally fairly good movie, although a few plot twists seemed contrived. The characters were well-rounded enough that I didn't mind that too much; I was interested in seeing what they would do and how they would develop as a result, so I was willing to overlook the implausibility factor here or there. I'd say it was worth it; the acting is solid and there's a lot of thoughtful interplay between the characters.

My only major objection was the ridiculous role of "Christianity" in the life of the abusive father character (Tom Arnold). Supposedly he's into the Bible and watches TV evangelists with his full attention, and uses what he thinks he's learned from this to justify mistreating his wife. Sorry, Hollywood; that's not insightful, it's just insulting. If you want to portray Christianity in a small town, why not show it across the lives of a representative proportion of the characters, letting the misunderstandings of the lone nutcase stand out against the rest? That would make for a more intelligent -- and believable -- script. (Of course, you might have to actually _understand_ Christianity for that to work. ;-)

Overall, I give it a 5. Won't change your life, but worth watching if you don't have anything better to do.

This film was certainly worth watching. There are intricacies in the plot which kept me shouting at the characters trying to help them make the right decisions. But these are 17 and 18 year old kids and they don't make the correct decisions even though they have the best of intentions. I taught high school for 25 years and trust me, I could see some of the students I taught make the same decisions. The actors, especially the kids, did a great job with their characters and their acting let me overlook any flaws in the movie. I could write a lot more but I don't want to reveal the plot before you watch the movie. Sorry, no spoilers from me. Oh, I really like the ending too.

There is a faint similarity between friends protecting friends films, "Blue Ridge Fall" and "A Simple Plan". While the former eventually peters out to mediocrity, the latter is "cult movie" material. "Blue Ridge Fall" starts out strong with one of the friends killing his abusive father, and the other three helping him to cover up the crime. Character development is good,and the small town Carolina atmosphere acceptable. Where the story begins to unravel is in the inept police work. No fingerprints or DNA are even hinted at being looked for. Instead the film churns on focusing on relationships and loyalty. The ending is especially weak, with justice far from served. - MERK

Very well made actually especially if you know or have a family member whom is autistic. Must watch especially if you grew up in the 70s-80s in North Carolina. Disagree with the other four reviewers - give this a high rating! In fact I believe this movie is an undiscovered gem. Had to watch twice to really understand all the nuances and what was going on in Aaron's head as well as how doing the right thing is nearly impossible in our police state world. Brought to mind Innocence Project, as well as small town (in)justice destroying millions of innocent lives every week in this supposed best country in the world. Especially jarring was the climax especially now as we approach 2020 and our world has just become more cruel and even more completely wrong in its meting out of justice by our so called law enforcement professionals. Chris Isaac sings one of my favorite songs of all time - so that is why I watched Blue Ridge Fall (or is it End of Innocence??????), as well as the NC setting. Strange such a great movie is so unknown, and why isn't it actually filmed in NC??? Utah? Can't find any more info on this film yet - so please help me if you have more details! Thank you all who worked on and helped with this movie - it will go down as one of my all time favorites. 8 out of 10.