Too much of everything

Overrated

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Okay... The direction, cinematography, the mood, and the pacing were done brilliantly and were truly captivating. And, unlike other reviewers here, I REALLY like Edward Burns; I think he is a cool kat in the vein of a milder Ben Affleck (PLEASE, do yourself a HUGE favour and watch 'CONFIDENCE'; DAMN good film!!!) BUT... And it is a BIG BUT like Mariah Carey's... It just isn't that terribly imaginative or deep. So, if you like your films very simple and straight-forward, you might like it. HOWEVER... If, like me, you like to have a little more mystery, imagination, and flavour in your movies, the ending of this film will leave you flatter than Chaz Bono...The movie is very well made, but, anyone who enjoys a bit more mystery and other-worldly flavour in their films should steer away and watch something else, because it is highly likely the ending will greatly disappoint you.Thus the extreme disparity and polarized reviews of this film...

The corpse of a private school student (played by Thomas Gibson in flashbacks) is found in a frozen river near a small town. The local authorities would prefer to dismiss the case as a simple suicide or an accident, but an honest cop named Abel Grey (Edward Burns) cannot ignore the clues pointing to a more complex truth. Perhaps a female student Carlin (Rachelle Lefevre) knows more about the case? A kind and beautiful female teacher Betsy (Jennifer Ehle) might also be able to help.The film is clearly work of professionals: the direction, photography and music give no reason to complain, but the movie is not without its problems. My main criticism is the lead character Abel who is left a somewhat blank and uninteresting vanilla hero in the end. Some brief scenes casting light on his childhood traumas aren't enough to make him appear as a real, living person, and the handsome but uncharismatic Edward Burns cannot bring him to life either. The other main character, the young man that is found in the river at the beginning, is a much more riveting character and left me wishing I had learned more about his inner life. The redheaded Carlin character would also have deserved more attention at the expense of Abel.Ultimately The River King is a watchable if somewhat forgettable mystery tale. There are occasional highlights, the haunting ending being an obvious example, but overall the film doesn't grab the attention of the audience very tightly and just slips by for the most part. It's not really a bad film though, so watch it if the premise sounds interesting to you.

I like to like movies that qualify as small gems. TRK had all the potential for such and, for the first forty minutes or so, looked to qualify. The acting wasn't bad (Ed Burns is just a bit too low key) the script is crisp and the pacing, shoot and story suspenseful. Indeed there were a dozen different prospects for; e.g., who the bad guy was going to be. I can't agree with some of the other comments herein that there was enough mood, fine acting, dialog, etc., to distinguish TRK as excellent cinema. But again, after more than a half hour I'm totally absorbed by the plot potential.It is almost as if TRK sets up the viewer for a thousand possibilities only to intentionally fulfill absolutely none of them. A move "fizzles" when it paints itself into a corner then escapes in a clumsy manner. TRK paints itself into a corner and then climbs out a window. Again, there are not enough fine points about this movie to make it enjoyable on another level. Virtually every aspect of the build-up centers on facts, twists, questions, etc., that go unanswered. It is truly difficult to imagine what the makers of TRK wanted the viewer to enjoy about this movie.

It's not a bad movie, it's just that it isn't a great one either (hence my summary: mediocre). You might've seen similar stories before (I know I have), so it's not that of a big a deal. It's a crime mystery, but as the viewer is more likely to be ahead of the main character, concerning the plot points or just getting clues, the real crime is that the movie is just moving to slow. It is under 100 minutes, but if feels like over 2 hours! Ed Burns does his best, but is miles away from his career best (15 minutes), imo! The subplot with his character seems not fully fleshed out and you could've lived without it. So there's not enough here to hate the movie, but also nothing special either!