Robert Redford directed this 1992 realization of Norman Maclean's bestselling, autobiographical novel about growing up in rural Montana, although the film shifts the story back into the Prohibition 1920s from its 1937 setting in the book. Norman is the good son, his younger brother Paul rebels against their Scottish minister father, the Reverend Maclean; but all love flyfishing. Norman watches helplessly as his wild and independent brother descends into gambling, boozing, and more dangerous pursuits. "River" is a slow and stately, almost mythic, film whose pace may wear on some viewers. It amplifies a love story about Norman and his wife Jessie Burns, although the women are still somewhat left out of the guy games that anchor the tale. But the Montana vistas are unquestionably moving and the acting reasonably good. Redford also serves as the voiceover narrator of Maclean, looking back more than 50 years on the pivotal events of his youth.
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The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus
