Wild River (1960)
8/10
Untilled, or discovered Kazan with heart-breaking Lee Remick and Damaged and Brilliant M. Clift!
28 October 2004
A touching unknown Kazan film ('60) that delves into the American psyche like Welles did in Touch of Evil ('58)..kind of. The plot is too basic and pure to explain, but it's not. This is also Bruce Dern's first film and possibly Rip Torn's. Monty Clift is (post-accident) still a brilliant actor (with half a shattered face for 10 years) who conveys the ambiguity of job-man to this lovely, young mother (Lee Remick) who was not even nominated for an Oscar, and it's down Alice's Rabbit Hole with Jo Van Fleet (OScar winner in previous Kazan film playing much older than she really was..again..like actors should be able to do in famous Hollywood films) decrepit, sane, just and bigoted ...all in the same paragraph (while sitting in a rockintg chair) with mud, dogs, Negroes, corruption, and the Tennessee commission.

A wonderful film. An 8 out of 10. Best performance = Lee Remick. There are other gliding Southern performances that grace the Magnolia trees, gator bait, and overalls that we have all come to love in an artistic, American way. Find this one!
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