River Wild: A Tame Shark Tale?
Ernie (Arthur Angel), a down-on-his-luck businessman, has a team of divers. Dylan (Jack Ryan), a similarly unfortunate mobster, has a sunken car filled with freshly stolen gold bullion. Fate throws them together, each seeing the other as their last hope. But a third player enters the game: a giant river shark, eager to tear apart anyone who dares approach the precious cargo.
Still from “River Wild”
Everything you might learn about “River Wild” beforehand suggests a shark-horror film in the vein of Spielberg’s timeless “Jaws.” That’s what makes watching this film, which so thoroughly subverts expectations, all the more interesting. First and foremost, “River Wild” is a chamber drama, albeit one that unfolds almost entirely outdoors on a river beach. Three divers and three mobsters initially seem to be working together. Later, of course, it becomes clear that their interests are far from aligned, and survival is not guaranteed for any of the participants in this riverside rendezvous. The horror element in “River Wild” is relegated to the background – the shark is rarely seen, and the blood flows more like a trickling stream than a raging river.
Still from “River Wild”
Director Matthew Holmes has crafted a very precise film, so streamlined that it seems there’s nothing to latch onto. The protagonists are virtuous and presented with all the gender and ethnic diversity appropriate for 1940s Australia. The antagonists are irredeemably awful, doing everything possible to avoid eliciting even a shred of sympathy. What saves “River Wild” is the clever choice of profession for the characters. Anyone can find themselves defenseless against a brazen gang of killers – thousands of films have already explored this scenario – but how many of them show, in detail, diving suits from eighty years ago that resemble spacesuits? It’s the preparations for the dives that are most captivating in the film.
Still from “River Wild”
Fortunately, “River Wild” is not limited to just the diving sequences. The film features two performances that, while not outstanding, are very good. Jack Ryan, who plays the main antagonist, can be mistaken for Kevin Costner at his peak moments. Hermione Corfield is responsible for the positive charisma in the film, and no matter how idealistic and naive her character may be, it’s impossible not to believe her shining eyes. If the director had been a little bolder, something other than hatred and contempt would have emerged between their characters, but “River Wild” is as didactic and old-fashioned as possible.
Didactic and Old-Fashioned
And perhaps, if you had to choose two words to describe the entire film, those words would be “didactic” and “old-fashioned.” “River Wild” is perfect for television, not for the cinema. A comfortable runtime of 85 minutes, a strict moral ending, the absence of any special effects, or even effects in general, adherence to all the laws of the genre without a hint of irony, and a single location for 95% of the runtime – director Matthew Holmes played it safe. And it’s not due to debutant timidity, but rather the experienced hand of a master. Holmes, who started as an animator, has been in live-action feature films for almost 20 years and knows exactly what he’s doing.
A Safe Bet
There’s no room for surprises in “River Wild,” but there’s also no room for disappointment. The mechanism of a drama about ordinary people confronting criminals was perfected decades ago, and director Holmes doesn’t bring anything new to it. But it is precisely these films, so standard in their neutrality, that serve as the foundation for everything great, or at least original, that can be filmed by bolder authors.