This deficiency leaves a hole in the picture that Redford can't cover over. Though he made a strong impression as the drifter in "Thelma & Louise," he seems callow and opaque here his resources as an actor are simply too limited for him to communicate the psychological subtleties of his character. Part of the problem may lie in Pitt himself. Nor is there anything beyond the usual sibling bickering between him and Norman, who is obviously his father's favorite. It's possible he's rebelling against his controlling father, but there's no visible tension between them. Though he's constantly in trouble, he's not a bad sort, but the gambling and drinking seem to spring from an anger deep within - an anger never fully explained. As Pitt plays him, Paul is something of a mystery. In one early scene, Paul taunts his older brother into risking his life by going over a waterfall in a rowboat, setting the pattern for the rest of their lives.įrom that incident, we are made aware that the grown-up Paul may not be as lucky as he was as a boy.
Paul takes chances that Norman would never consider. Paul is good-looking, charismatic and talented (he's well known around town for his newspaper columns), but there's a bit of the Devil in him. Even as a kid, it's clear that the allure of the forbidden is too great for him to follow in his father's footsteps.
#A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT FREE#
He's the good son, and in the early part of the film, he seems featureless and a little dull, as if his only aim were to live up to everyone's expectations of him.īy contrast, his younger brother, Paul, has worked free of these burdens. Maclean sets for his sons are demandingly high, and for Norman, measuring up to his father's example of decency is a challenging life's calling. "River," based on the autobiographical novella by Norman Maclean, presents a picture of an America that is unsullied by modern complexities, but it's not a sanitized vision. Fly-fishing is the film's dominating metaphor, representing not only a reverence for nature but also a respect for a dedication to craft that verges on artistry. The two boys idolize their father, and never more so than when the three are standing thigh-deep in the waters of the Blackfoot River. Maclean and his two sons, Norman (Craig Sheffer) and Paul (Brad Pitt), is fly-fishing, which the men practice in the clear streams of Montana as if it were a combination of art form and holy sacrament. The Maclean family is an old-fashioned, close-knit clan, headed by a stern but benevolent patriarch who is also a Presbyterian minister (Tom Skerritt). It's thoughtful and beautiful, but also a little stodgy. Redford has made his third feature with the same diligence he showed in directing "Ordinary People" and "The Milagro Beanfield War" - but, as in those previous works, his studied sincerity robs the story of some of its natural vitality. Primarily, this is a matter of pacing and sensibility. In avoiding some of the tawdrier aspects of today's movies, he's also failed to deliver some of the pleasures that audiences have come to expect. One of the movie's more serious drawbacks is that in his determination to set off in a new direction, Redford has made a film that seems almost anachronistic.
#A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT MOVIE#
In its determination to emphasize character and thoughtful content over formulas and facile sensationalism, it's a movie that's proudly out of step with Hollywood trends. Set in Montana between 19, it describes a life that is grounded in what would now be called traditional family values, with a heavy emphasis on morals, character and love of nature. Robert Redford's "A River Runs Through It" is a loving work of embracing nostalgia for a brighter, cleaner, more upright America.