Michael Fredianelli's film THE RIVEN is a tense drama centered around the all to common practice of rape on college campuses. In fact as of this writing, a prestigious university has suspended fraternity activities due to the issue and many are proclaiming an overall rape culture exists in the US. THE RIVEN tells a story about a campus rape and deals with the effects such a crime can have on college students. The trauma, the reluctance to report, the victim-blaming, the impact on social life and relationships... THE RIVEN puts it all on film. And while stories like the one depicted might be discussed and examined through the news and other media, it's odd that there doesn't seem to be (at least to my knowledge) a bigger, more mainstream film that seriously examines the subject of campus rape as its main focus.
In many ways, THE RIVEN is a different film to see from director Fredianelli. The film is more grounded than some of the director's other work and the characters and situations feel very real. Sure there are some plot points that feel contrived (it's a movie, it needs to tell the story) and a performance or two that's maybe a bit over-the top, but the film depicts plenty of the regular moments of college living that many can relate to.
Overall, it's nice to see Fredianelli succeed with a serious drama instead of the genre-film route he's better known for going. Even if the director's exploitation style films often come peppered with social commentary themselves, it's nice to see that same real-world relevancy come in more of a straightforward manner. And then done so powerfully at that. It's a poignant film that needs to get noticed.
