Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The River Why Blu-ray Movie Review

Why NOT the River?

Reviewed by Michael Reuben November 16, 2011

Knowing almost nothing about fly fishing and its literature, I was still struck by the complete lack of reference in the supplements of The River Why to the large elephant-in-the-room that is Robert Redford's A River Runs Through It (1992). Both films are based on beloved books (which screenwriter Thomas A. Cohen and co-star William Hurt do mention), and both books depict a young man's coming of age through the rhythms and rituals of casting a line into a flowing river. Were the makers of the later film afraid of the comparison? Or did they just figure that, nearly two decades later, the audience wouldn't remember?

The stories are certainly different enough for The River Why to distinguish itself. Redford's film was a memoir told by an elderly man recalling his family, especially his brother, a genius at fishing but a failure at everything else, who didn't survive past young adulthood. The River Why is a more contemporary tale, although the exact time period is left vague, about a teenager, Gus, who leaves home to find himself, starting from a familiar point -- fishing -- then letting life's current take him places he's never been. As in Redford's film, family dynamics play an important role, but The River Why is much more episodic and loosely constructed, because it's about a young man's exploration, rather than an old man's summing up.

Based on a 1983 novel of the same title by author Duncan James Hearst, The River Why is the story of Gus Orviston, or, as it says on his birth certificate, "Augustine" (Zach Gilford). Only his father (Hurt) calls him that. His father, originally British, is named Henning Hale Orviston, but Gus calls him "H2O". H2O is a famous fly fisherman, author of several bestsellers, and the proud conqueror of "Nijinsky", a prize steelhead trout (now stuffed and mounted) whose epic battle with H2O is recounted in one of his books. Gus's mother, "Ma" (Kathleen Quinlan), is H2O's polar opposite in all things. She's a native of eastern Oregon (and has the accent to prove it), fishes with earthworms, and treats fishing as a practical pursuit, not an art form. Ma and H2O argue perpetually, and while Gus may be a "fishing prodigy", having inherited every skill each parent has to offer, there's no oxygen left in the Orivston household for a third fisherman. Gus's younger brother, Bill Bob (Gattlin Griffith), has responded by demonstrating zero interest in fishing or, indeed, anything aquatic. He marches to an entirely different drummer, spouting a weirdly poetic philosophy all his own.

After a vicious blow-up at the dinner table, Gus moves out. He finds a cabin on a river bank and maps out a simple schedule to devote maximum time to fishing. It's as if he's attempting to follow Thoreau's directive to "simplify, simplify". But in fact all Gus is really doing is what people usually do when they leave home and strike out on their own: clearing out the debris and allowing themselves the possibility of new experience.

And new experience comes. Selling his expertly tied flies to a local fishing shop makes Gus part of the local economy. Teaching the aggressively friendly neighbor kids his tricks of the trade makes him a local legend. A chance encounter with a noted fishing columnist, Dutch Hines (William Devane), makes him a celebrity. Inadvertently hooking the drowned body of a fishing tourist, which he then strenuously drags to shore, causes Gus to meet Titus (Dallas Roberts), an eccentric local resident with a degree in philosophy, who persistently challenges Gus's certainty that there's no such thing as a soul. (Titus' arguments aren't more sophisticated than a freshman class, but they're enough to open a mind that's willing to listen.)

But the most important (and, for the audience, interesting) encounter is Gus's extended pursuit of a woman named Eddy (Amber Heard), who for a while is so elusive that she could almost be a freshwater mermaid. Gus first glimpses her while assisting his father at a book signing; later he finds Eddy challenging a politician defending legislation to authorize new dams on the river, where she becomes confrontational and is ejected by security. Gus next encounters her fishing in the river in her own unique style, which involves hooking a fish, then tossing her pole into the water and swimming after it in the nude. Gus pretends not to have seen this part, but Eddy realizes he's been watching her and leaves him standing alone on a rock. Eventually, after various feints and dodges, the two of them connect, and Eddy does something truly surprising -- she shows Gus an aspect of fishing he didn't already know.

The River Why ends on a hopeful note. In that sense, too, it differs from A River Runs Through It, which concluded with an elderly man standing in the water casting a line, resigned to life's mysteries and the limits of what we can know and accomplish. By contrast, at the end of The River Why, life seems full of promise and possibilities, and the current still has a long way to carry Gus.

The River Why Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shot with the Red One digital camera by Karsten "Crash" Gopinath (ATL), The River Why comes to Blu-ray in a 1080i, AVC-encoded Blu-ray that reproduces the spectacular Oregon locations with crystal clarity and definition. Detail and depth of field are exceptional, as is typical with the Red One, and post-processing at the digital intermediate stage appears to have been conservative, so that colors appear natural and haven't acquired the "pushed" or overly saturated look often favored by contemporary directors and DPs (especially those, like Crash, who work heavily in commercials and music videos). Black levels are excellent, which is essential for the many night scenes.

It is unfortunate the Blu-ray was encoded at 1080i instead of 1080p, but as a practical matter I did not observe any combing or other interlaced artifacts during playback. Due to the technical requirements of Blu-ray.com's software, I'm required to deinterlace the screencaps before uploading them. As a result, in this instance they are even less representative than usual of the quality of the disc's image in motion.

The River Why Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The disc's DTS-HD MA 5.1 track has been encoded at an unusually low volume and requires an increase of at least +5db from one's usual listening levels. (Be careful, though, because the rest of the disc, including, the extras and the Image logo, are not similarly quiet.) Sounds of the river and related environments spread to the surrounds, as do the sounds of other environments (e.g., a bar where Gus and Titus shoot pool), but overall this track is relatively restrained, as is the action on screen. Dialogue is clear and well-presented, once the volume level has been properly adjusted. The unobtrusive score is credited to Austin Wintory.

The River Why Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interviews (HD; 1.78:1; 38:58): This is a series of interviews, heavily and sometimes abruptly edited, with principal cast and crew. Some of the material is very informative, and nearly all of it is interesting (though, by the end, I was ready to shoot the next person who said the phrase "coming of age"). The participants are: Amber Heard, Kathleen Quinlan, producer Kristi Denton Cohen, director Matthew Leutwyler, writer Thomas A. Cohen, William Hurt and Zach Gilford. Note that, although the video is technically 1080i HD, the quality is extremely poor. For example, the floor behind producer Kristi Denton Cohen is a virtual field of macro-blocking, comparable to the worst examples from the early days of DVD.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2.35:1; 2:42): A lively trailer that aptly summarizes the film.

The River Why Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ironically for a film about life's essentials and the basics of nature, The River Why became the object of that most complicated of human creations, a law suit. The novel's author, Duncan James Hearst, sued to stop production of the film, claiming the producers hadn't properly secured the rights. A settlement for an undisclosed sum allowed the film to proceed, but Hearst's name appears nowhere in the credits. He had to concede the use of the title, although he has stated that he would have preferred not to. Such is the paradox of deploying a message about the beauty of nature's simplicity in the modern world; it takes technology and legal arrangements that are the very opposite of simple, and all the more so when the time comes to translate the message to Blu-ray. For its technical merits, the Blu-ray is worth seeing. The story may or may not grab you; so rent first.