Starring: Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, David Strathairn
Rating: **
WHY STREEP chose this film remains a mystery, except perhaps that she has run out of acting challenges and decided to go into stunt work. River Wild, a sort of a Cape-Fear-meets-Deliverance tale in which a family is terrorised while on a river rafting trip, is a film that demands little from its actors and much from its scenery and stunt work. Following a limp start, however, the film manages to pick up speed quickly, making it easy to watch and providing thrilling moments along the way.
The set-up is fairly predictable: hard-working yuppie family plans vacation, the workaholic Dad, Tom (David Strathairn), resentfully comes along, mother, father and son begin raft trip in a polarised state, with dad getting most of the cold-shouldering. Streep's character, Gail, by the way, is an experienced boater and former raft guide, which means the family is alone on the river. Well, not quite.
Along comes Wade (Kevin Bacon) and co, seemingly nice guys who attach themselves a bit too firmly to the family unit for comfort. From this point on River Wild turns from trite family drama to chilling thriller in a few short scenes, and the action takes on a certain flair and momentum that is well-timed and even hair-raising, particularly when Wade's demented character comes fully into play.
Director Curtis Hanson (The Hand that Rocks the Cradle) makes full use of the natural dangers that surround the rafters - the scenes in which Streep is forced to guide the unwanted visitors through the deadly series of rapids are breathtakingly shot (Streep did nearly all her own stunts, which is an incredible achievement in itself), causing the adrenal glands to pump full-force.
Hanson also has a deft sense of pacing when it comes to orchestrating the tensions that arise as the villains take over the family unit, making full use of what little complexities the script allows. The film becomes a sort of a Hand That Rocks the Boat as Wade uses Roarke (played with considerable skill by the 10-year-old Joseph Mazzello) to force Gail and Tom do his bidding.
Bacon, Streep, and Strathairn succeed in carrying the drama to its inevitable climax on the final stretch of deadly rapids, and the result is a taut thriller that manages to avoid limp predicability due to the non-stop action, gorgeous scenery, and terrifying stunt work.