River’s Edge Analysis — GC #315

Keanu Reeves movies podcast

May is here, and John Wick 3 is just around the corner. In honor of that and Dalton’s upcoming nuptials, we’ve decided to pull the trigger on a marathon we’ve been wanting to take on for a long time: A Man Called Keanu. We’ve set this up to look at a movie from each period of his career, and we’re kicking it off with River’s Edge from 1986.

At the River’s Edge

Loosely based on the murder of Marcy Conrad, Tim Hunter’s 1987 independent release River’s Edge is a dark exploration of teenage youth. The events of the film unfurl over the course of a few days following the murder of Jamie at the hands of her boyfriend, John, played by Daniel Roebuck. John displays the body to all of his friends, including Matt and Layne, as portrayed by Keanu Reeves and Crispin Glover. Matt struggles with doing what is right in the face of everyone around him seemingly going down dark rabbit holes.

<<Listen to our earlier discussion of Point Break here>>

Keanu is a GenreCast favorite, and we’ve been tempted to tackle his filmography for a long time. River’s Edge drops at the early stage of his career. He establishes his look and style almost immediately. In this movie, we talk about generational divides, youth, gender politics and more in River’s Edge.

As always, we expand your syllabus with additional reading and viewing materials, and finally, we decide whether River’s Edge should go on the shelf or in the trash.


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Thanks for joining us for our River’s Edge review and analysis. If you haven’t yet, you can connect with us through our various means of social media. Hit us up and let us know what you like and what you don’t like. Also, it would mean a lot if you left a review on iTunes or Stitcher after you finish subscribing.

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