the river king movie review

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The River King Reviews

Sem jamais optar entre uma linha narrativa realista ou fantasiosa, o filme se fragiliza tambm em funo de uma trama frouxa que traz personagens desnecessrios e uma concluso pessimamente resolvida.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 25, 2006

A slow-moving, badly-written, and messily constructed whodunit that succeeds in being boring and not much else.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Dec 24, 2005

One possible outcome after another is broadly telegraphed as the movie plods along, but most lines of inquiry are never to be resolved.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Oct 29, 2005

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The River King Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via Amazon Prime Video

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The River King is a thriller mystery film based on Alice Hoffman’s novel of the same name. The story centers around Abel Grey, a dedicated police officer tasked with investigating the mysterious death of a boy from a prestigious private school.

Here’s how you can watch and stream The River King via streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video.

Is The River King available to watch via streaming?

Yes, The River King is available to watch via streaming on Amazon Prime Video .

In the show, the school insists that the boy’s death was a suicide to avoid scandals. However, Grey suspects foul play and sets out to uncover the truth. The movie received mostly mixed-to-positive reviews from viewers and critics.

The cast members include Edward Burns as Abel Grey, Jennifer Ehle as Betsy Chase, Thomas Gibson as August ‘Gus’ Pierce, John Kapelos as Joey Tosh, and many others.

Watch The River King streaming via Amazon Prime Video

The River King is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.

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The River King’s official synopsis is as follows:

“Abel Grey is sent to investigate the death of a boy from an exclusive local school, who is found floating in the river. Fearing scandal, the school insists it was suicide. But after discovering from the boy’s girlfriend, Carlin, that he was being badly bullied, Abel suspects that a dangerous schoolboy initiation has gone horribly wrong and he secretly solicits the help of a sympathetic teacher, Betsy. He is warned off the investigation by his boss, as the school is a generous benefactor to the Police benevolent fund. Abel, however, cannot let the case go, not only because his own brother committed suicide years before, but also it seems that the spirit of the dead boy is leaving them clues as to what really happened that night.”

NOTE: The streaming services listed above are subject to change. The information provided was correct at the time of writing.

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The post The River King Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via Amazon Prime Video appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More .

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The River King

Where to Watch

Edward Burns (Abel Grey) Jennifer Ehle (Betsy Chase) Thomas Gibson (August 'Gus' Pierce) John Kapelos (Joey Tosh) Jamie Thomas King (Harry McKenna) Rachelle Lefevre (Carlin Leander) Bruce Murphy (Joey's Son) David Gibson McLean (Young Abel) Julian Rhind-Tutt (Eric Herman) Ross Petty (The Dean)

Nick Willing

Abel Grey investigates the death of a boy whose body was found floating in a river; fearing scandal, the school insists it was suicide, but Abel suspects that a dangerous schoolboy initiation went horribly wrong.

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Reviews of the river king 2005.

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★★★ Watched by saltyessentials 06 Apr 2024

Enjoyably Good

½ Watched by MerleDeMalheur 02 Apr 2024

Passez votre chemin.

★★ Watched by GucciTarantino 27 Mar 2024

On prime they gave the girl red eyes in the thumbnail I thought thia was a siren movie

★ Watched by apollinebgna 02 Oct 2023

Alors j'ai vraiment pas aimé ce film. Genre je pense je suis a la limite de le détester mais bon. Si vous voulais vous faire chier pendant 1h30 n'hésitez pas sinon consacré vous à regarder un autre film.

★ Watched by andhermonsters 12 Feb 2024

I found it pretty boring tbh

★★ Watched by alcoholickitty_ 09 Feb 2024

that one bitch (me) who’ll watch every single crime/mystery film on existence, even if it’s shitty!

★★½ Watched by dewweasel 06 Feb 2024

Pieces of a great movie, didn’t quite come together. Weighed down by poor subplots 

I liked Edward Burns character

★½ Watched by Alexander 29 Jan 2024

found this on a whim, wish I didn’t

★½ Watched by iknw07554 11 Jan 2024

It started with so much promise but ultimately went nowhere. It could make up its mind whether it was a supernatural thriller ..or a murder mystery .it ended up as neither.

★ Watched by CaligulaNoir 10 Jan 2024

Such an uninspired, predictable, wooden, boring crime flick. Waste of time.

★½ Watched by Ocean (Charlie) 01 Jan 2024

I was expecting something akin to the dead poet society mixed with some detective shit and suffice to say it did not hit the spot. A sad excuse for a first 2024 watch.

★★ Watched by vacrimson 19 Apr 2011

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The River King (2005)

Genre: thriller / drama, duration: 99 minuten, country: canada / united kingdom, directed by: nick willing, stars: edward burns , jennifer ehle and john kapelos, imdb score: 5,7  (3.899), releasedate: 21 october 2005.

The River King plot

"It's the truth that haunts us" Abel Gray is tasked with investigating the death of a boy whose body was found in the river near his exclusive school. Abel learns that the boy has been bullied a lot at school and suspects a prank has gotten out of hand. Not only does he face opposition from his police department for being a generous donor to the school, but he also gets the impression that the boy's ghost is leaving clues for him.

Actors and actresses

Betsy Chase

August 'Gus' Pierce

Carlin Leander

Eric Herman

Nathaniel Gibb

Walter Pierce

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The River King

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Detective Abel Grey (Edward Burns) is called to investigate the death of a prep school student in the nearby river. Initially ruled as a suicide, Grey suspects that the death was a hazing incident gone too far and solicits the help of a sympathetic and smitten teacher (Jennifer Ehle) to uncover the truth. Through a series of mysteriously placed clues, he is led on a path to not only uncover the answers to the student death, but also deal with his own personal demons stemming from the suicide of his older brother years earlier.

Product details

• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 2.35:1
• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 0.7 x 5.4 inches; 4 ounces
• Director ‏ : ‎ Nick Willing
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 39 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ January 24, 2006
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Edward Burns, Jennifer Ehle, Thomas Gibson, John Kapelos, Jamie Thomas King
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ French
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ First Look Pictures
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000BPK2KC
• Writers ‏ : ‎ Alice Hoffman, David Kane
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• #9,941 in Mystery & Thrillers (Movies & TV)
• #30,290 in Drama DVDs

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"The River" has some basic problems anyway, but it might have seemed like a much fresher film if it were not, as everybody knows by now, the third of Hollywood's "save the farm" movies released since last September. Like " Places in the Heart " and " Country ," it tells the story of brave, stubborn farmers who are determined not to lose their family land to the bankers.

The farmers in this film have their own unique challenge - the farm is next to a river that tends to overflow - but "The River" also has a lot in common with the earlier films, including two crucial scenes that are astonishingly similar to ones in "Country." It is some kind of cosmic bad joke on the makers of "The River," who worked hard and earnestly on what is essentially a good film, that it comes third in the parade.

The movie contains a heartfelt performance by Sissy Spacek as the farm wife; an adequate performance by Mel Gibson as her husband, and a scene-stealing performance by Scott Glenn as the local financier who wants to buy up all the land in the valley, dam the river, and generate some jobs with cheap hydro-electric power. (The crucial flaw in the movie's plot is that Glenn's ideas, which are supposed to make him the bad guy, sound like simple common sense.)

As the movie opens, Gibson is fighting the river and almost is trapped and drowned beneath a bulldozer. We remember the opening scene in "Country," where the son of the family almost is suffocated in an overturned load of grain, and "The River" suffers in comparison: A secondary character might be killed in an opening scene, but hardly the male lead.

Then life settles down on the farm, and we get to know the Spacek and Gibson characters, and their small children. These scenes of simple domestic life are good ones; a kitchen love scene between Gibson and Spacek is warm, true and electrifying. But then the farm gets caught in a credit crunch, and Gibson goes off to work as a scab at a struck steel mill in Birmingham, Alabama. It's here that we begin to notice a fairly heavy touch in the screenplay. After a frightened deer wanders into the mill, the strikebreakers take pity on the animal, surround it and lead it to safety. A memorable image, which is ruined because in the very next scene, the striking workers do exactly the same favor for the scabs.

Meanwhile, back on the farm, an auction is broken up by the chants of fellow farmers, expressing solidarity: "No sale! No sale!" This scene is just like the one in "Country." Feeling a certain amount of déjà vu, we listen to Scott Glenn's reasons that Gibson and Spacek should sell their farm: "Sooner or later, you'll have to. The river will flood again, or there'll be a drought, or a surplus."

I don't think the movie wants us to believe him, but he has logic on his side. You know a movie's got problems when you find yourself wishing the heroes would agree with the villain.

Now that all three "save the farm" movies have been released, which one wins the sweepstakes? My vote goes to "Country," which is the most concerned with actual farm problems, with the credit crunch brought on by low-priced farm loans in the 1970s and falling market prices in the 1980s - and which contains the best performance, Jessica Lange's, "Places in the Heart" is more of a human fable, more concerned with its characters than with actual farm problems, but it places second. "The River" feels too contrived in comparison with the genuine emotion of "Places," and the authentic politics of "Country."

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

The River (1985)

Rated PG-13

122 minutes

Sissy Spacek as Mae Garvey

Don Hood as Sen. Neiswinder

Becky Jo Lynch as Beth Garvey

Mel Gibson as Tom Garvey

Scott Glenn as Joe Wad

Shane Bailey as Lewis Garvey

Produced by

• Edward Lewis
• Robert Cortes

Directed by

• Mark Rydell

Screenplay by

• Julian Barry
• Robert Dillon

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The River King (2005)

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We checked for updates on 248 streaming services on April 12, 2024 at 11:26:03 PM. Something wrong? Let us know!

The River King streaming: where to watch online?

Currently you are able to watch "The River King" streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla or for free with ads on The Roku Channel, Tubi TV, Redbox, Crackle, Freevee, Amazon Prime Video with Ads. It is also possible to rent "The River King" on Amazon Video online and to download it on Amazon Video.

Where does The River King rank today? The JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. This includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. This includes data from ~1.3 million movie & TV show fans per day.

Streaming charts last updated: 9:20:13 PM, 04/12/2024

The River King is 20336 on the JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts today. The movie has moved up the charts by 23767 places since yesterday. In the United States, it is currently more popular than Growing Op but less popular than Hollywood Cop.

Abel Grey is sent to investigate the death of a boy from an exclusive local school, who is found floating in the river. Fearing scandal, the school insists it was suicide. But after discovering from the boy's girlfriend, Carlin, that he was being badly bullied, Abel suspects that a dangerous schoolboy initiation has gone horribly wrong and he secretly solicits the help of a sympathetic teacher, Betsy. He is warned off the investigation by his boss, as the school is a generous benefactor to the Police benevolent fund. Abel, however, cannot let the case go, not only because his own brother committed suicide years before, but also it seems that the spirit of the dead boy is leaving them clues as to what really happened that night.

Videos: Trailers, Teasers, Featurettes

Streaming Charts The JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. This includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. This includes data from ~1.3 million movie & TV show fans per day.

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Reviews of The River King by Alice Hoffman

Summary | Excerpt | Reading Guide | Reviews | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio

The River King

by Alice Hoffman

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• Literary Fiction
• New England, USA
• 1980s & '90s
• Adult-YA Crossover Fiction

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Book Summary

A suspenseful, lyrical account of one man's search for the truth.

For more than a century, the small town of Haddan, Massachusetts, has been divided, as if by a line drawn down the center of Main Street, separating those born and bred in the village from those who attend the prestigious Haddan School. But one October night the two worlds are thrust together due to an inexplicable death, and the town's divided history is revealed in all its complexity. The lives of everyone involved are unraveled: from Carlin Leander, the fifteen-year-old girl who is as loyal as she is proud, to Betsy Chase, a woman running from her own destiny; from August Pierce, a boy who unexpectedly finds courage in his darkest hour, to Abel Grey, the police officer who refuses to let unspeakable actions--both past and present--slide by without notice. Entertainment Weekly has declared that Alice Hoffman's worlds are "replete with miracles" and The Boston Globe has praised her "iridescent prose, taut narrative suspense, and alluring atmosphere." Now she brings us a novel as compelling as it is daring, an exploration of forgiveness and hope, a wondrous tale of innocence and evil, and of the secrets we keep.

The Iron Box

The Haddan School was built in 1858 on the sloping banks of the Haddan River, a muddy and precarious location that had proven disastrous from the start. That very first year, when the whole town smelled of cedar shavings, there was a storm of enormous proportions, with winds so strong that dozens of fish were drawn up from the reedy shallows, then lifted above the village in a shining cloud of scales. Torrents of water fell from the sky, and by morning the river had overflowed, leaving the school's freshly painted white clapboard buildings adrift in a murky sea of duckweed and algae. For weeks, students were ferried to classes in rowboats; catfish swam through flooded perennial gardens, observing the disaster with cool, glassy eyes. Every evening, at twilight, the school cook balanced on a second-story window ledge, then cast out his rod to catch dozens of silver trout, a species found only in the currents of the Haddan River, a sweet, fleshy variety that was ...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

• Hoffman dedicates much of the novel to describing The Haddan School campus in detail. In what ways do the School's physical descriptions mirror actual events in the novel? Is Hoffman's description of the Chalk House foreboding for its inhabitants?
• The line between past and present, living and dead, is often blurred in the story, creating a mystical, haunting atmosphere in which anything seems possible. How does Annie Howe "live on" at the Haddan School? What mystical or supernatural qualities did Annie Howe display while she was alive? Are there any ghosts in the novel, and if so, how do these ghosts from the past inform the state of things in the present?
• How are Carlin Leander and August Pierce different from ...
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The River King

Alice Hoffman

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2000

Plot Summary

The River King is a 2000 novel by American author Alice Hoffman, known for writing books about women in search of their identities that mix realism with the supernatural. The book tells the story of a small Massachusetts town shrouded in mystery after a student drowns in the local river. The novel was made into a film in 2005 directed by Nick Willing.

At the start of the novel, two young boys discover the body of seventeen-year-old Gus Pierce in a frozen river. The local police force, spearheaded by Abel Gray and his partner, retrieve the body and begin a full investigation into the death of Gus Pierce. They soon find out that Gus was a student at the prestigious Haddan School, and, when questioned, the principal describes Gus as a loner who was often depressed and alienated.

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Abel asks the school’s photography teacher to take photos of Gus’s room. The teacher agrees but insists on developing the photos herself. She also lets Abel know that she had seen Gus the night before his death in a heated argument with his friend Carlin. The police find Carlin crying in Gus’s room when they arrive to search it and take pictures. The teacher tells Abel to take it easy on Carlin, suggesting that she is not as tough as she may seem. On his way out of the dorm, Abel thinks he hears a noise and follows it to the bathroom, but finds no one there.

Gus’s father arrives, and Abel is supposed to take him to a hotel but decides to first bring him to see his son. Later, Carlin arrives at the hotel and insists that Gus did not kill himself, trying to convince Gus’s father. Carlin tells Abel that Gus’s accident was her fault, insisting that he would never have killed himself without leaving her a note in explanation. Abel wants to believe her and tries to convince the police force to pursue its investigation, but everyone seems to be convinced that it was suicide and that the case is closed.

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The only person who seems to believe Abel is Betsy, the school photography teacher, who delivers the photographs she has taken and developed to Abel, pointing out a shadowy figure standing next to Gus’s bed in one picture, admitting that she finds the image chilling. Abel asks Betsy to dinner, but she refuses, telling him that she is getting married. He tells her to be sure to come to him with anything else she might find pertaining to the case.

Abel continues the investigation on his own, as the rest of the police force has ruled it a suicide and moved on. He finds that the department withheld certain evidence during the autopsy of the body, including the fact that Gus had human excrement in his lungs, which could not have come from the river water. Soon after, Abel is approached by the school principal who offers him a bribe to drop the investigation.

Furious, Abel storms off, followed by Betsy, who has more photographs to show him. In the photos, she points out shadowy figures looming behind Gus, Carlin, and Harry, Carlin’s boyfriend. She is truly concerned about the images and asks Abel if he thinks she is crazy. He responds that maybe they both are. In spite of her upcoming marriage, Betsy and Abel embrace and spend the night together.

While Abel is investigating Gus’s death, memories of his past begin to surface. He thinks back to his strained relationship with his father, and the case brings up his brother Frank’s suicide. As Abel continues the investigation, he discovers that Gus was hazed by Harry and some other boys who are involved in a secret society. He also learns that the teacher who was supervising the dorm that night was Betsy’s fiancé and that he turned a blind eye to what was taking place.

Betsy meets up with Abel to tell him that she is overcome with guilt and cannot lie to her fiancé. She breaks off their brief romance. Carlin also ends her relationship with Harry, as she grows increasingly distraught over Gus’s death. She isolates herself from her family and decides to remain at school over the holidays, haunted by her friend’s death.

In his desperation to get answers, Abel escalates his investigation, which ultimately leads him to turn in his badge and gun when he is fired. Through another student, Abel learns that Harry is likely responsible for Gus's death. No longer a police officer, Abel is able to frame Harry for cheating on an exam, which results in Harry's expulsion.

In the end, Abel decides it is time to talk to his father about his brother Frank and to come to terms with his own guilty conscience.

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