A River Runs Through It (1992)

There is perhaps no better illustration of poetry in motion than the fluid rhythm of casting a fly fisherman's rod. The scenes of Reverend Maclean (Tom Skerritt) and his sons Norman (Craig Sheffer) and Paul (Brad Pitt) fly fishing in the Big Blackfoot had an almost hypnotic effect on this viewer; if only I could pursue the art of casting a fly rod with such grace. The story will resonate with those affected by father/son relationships, and possibly even more for anyone who has, or had, a brother who meant as much to them as Norman and Paul did for each other in this film. It wasn't until I finished watching this movie that I found out it was based on the real life story of Norman Maclean, an American author and scholar who published a book under the same title as the picture ('A River Runs Through It and Other Stories').With Robert Redford helming the movie as director, I couldn't help notice a number of scenes in which Brad Pitt resembled the iconic actor using Redford's charm and mannerisms. Redford himself would have been ideal in the role of Paul Maclean had the picture been made some three decades earlier. In one of his earliest starring film roles, Pitt exudes the charisma and charm that would eventually make him a celebrity and star of the first order.There is some irony in Paul's statement to brother Norman as quoted in my summary line above. Vowing never to leave Montana following Norman's invitation to move to Chicago with him and his new wife, Paul's demons eventually caught up with him to insure that his vow would be fulfilled. What led to Paul's death can be conjectured from the type of life he led and the type of people he became indebted to, leaving unresolved the relationship he shared earlier in the story with an Indian girl. Taken in it's entirety, "A River Runs Through It" is as much a testament to Paul's short life as it is to his older brother's.

"At that moment I knew, surely and clearly, that I was witnessing perfection. He stood before us, suspended above the earth, free from all its laws like a work of art. And I knew, just as surely and clearly, that life is not a work of art, and that the moment could not last."This is among my favorite films. The photography is moving, unforgettable, etched in my mind. The writing passages are almost as memorable. The story pits two brothers growing up in small-town Montana, trying to break from an overly religious father. One rebels more than the other, and you know tragedy is not far. Though their views lead them to drift apart, their lives stay intertwined. It's a film about family bonds, capturing the moments, and the injustices, the inanities of life. It reminds me that life is cruel, but there are moments, however fleeting, that make it worthwhile.

"I have read the short story by Norman Maclean, and the movie did justice to Norman Maclean's writing. My husband tends to reread it occasionally, and I myself have read it over and scenes of the movie keeps coming to mind. We have videos of many of Redford 's movies and we have watched "A River runs through it" many times. Redford is part of the "famdamily" as he is always around. We never get tired of Redford's perception of Norman Maclean writings, and the beauty of Montana."This is one of my most favourite movies of all times, nice story.

It is quite hard to believe, that a movie with so many hateable clichés in it, could turn out to be such a good movie. A River Runs Through It a film directed by Robert Redford, based on the novella by Norman Maclean by the same name, stars Craig Sheffer as the lead Norman Maclean, and Brad Pitt as Norman's little brother Paul Maclean. The movie sticks fairly well to the story for a story of this kind, that doesn't many many cinematic opportunities. Although a few details are sacrificed, it does not take away from the originality of the story. It also adds some of it's own, new touches, that help make the movie more memorable. The adaptation of the film, while not being completely accrete, is able to stay true to the story if that makes any sense. This is why the film A River Runs Through It while not sticking completely to each event of the book the of the same name by Norman Maclean, is able to stay true to the overall story and messages that are portrayed in the book. While adding a little touch of cinema so that the average masses of movie goers won't get to bored. By the time the credits role. The characters in this film, are just the right amount of book adaptation, and the it would already take a very intriguing actor to play the free spirited Paul, but seeing Brad Pitt in the role, just makes it even more interesting. Craig Sheffer, while not p ache viewing such stardom as Brad Pitt, still is able to play his role in the movie very effectively. These two leads, realistically, couldn't have been cast any better. Of course there are other side characters that weren't as perfectly cast. Norm and Paul's father didn't particularly fit in the role. Almost everyone who read the book probably imagined him as more of a big rugged guy, even if her was a preacher, that is how the book portrayed him. Not to mention Paul's beautiful Native American girlfriend p, who was neither beautiful, or Native American. But this is just nitpicking, since no film can have a perfect cast, and the two brothers are enough to keep this movie afloat nicely.The theme is something that movies can get very wrong, very easily, in book to movie. adaptations. Especially when dealing with a theme such as the one in this book, which is confusing to the most advanced reader. The film makers were treading on thin ice, when they took up this part of the story. But, to their credit, they don't just portray the theme accurately, they make it easier to understand. With a story such as this one, with such a narrative and underlying meaning in it's characters. The theme is not just being waved right in your face, and screaming that it's the theme. Your have to search for it, and even then it's very hard to understand. It one of those themes where you read the whole book, and came find all the little details, and put them all together, and your starting at complete nonsense. The movie decides to uncork the nonsense for you, while still not shoving it in your face, so obnoxiously, as films tend to do with their themes. The actors also certainly know what their young to portray their theme. With their clear use of meaning in their lines, and just how subtlety the can lay on the emotion. It's clear the message in A River Runs Though It isn't one that's going away any time soon. So on the whole, even if the movie did have a few things that seem to crop up in movies are less than appetizing, (seeing a girl from acrossed to room at a party, and falling in love with her, the strict parent, the reckless decision as youth, that could have killed them, but they turn out okay anyway). However the movie was a successful adaption of the book it is named after. It's characters are for the most part, well adapted, and it's theme is clear. Little more can be asked of a movie adaptation of a book. This movie is one that is sure to please, fans of the classic short story, and true movie lovers a like. Although if your a person who only likes big studio movies, who favors big explosions, among other unrealistically big things on the screen at all times, I'd leave this one out of your collection. But if your like so many other classic movie lovers out there, this is a movie for you, just try and see passed all the obsessive fly fishing.