River of Grass (2020)

You won't be disappointed!

To me, this movie is perfection.

Admirable film.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

River of Grass is a 'first-movie' (practically in quotes to make the distinction) not just in the fact that it is for Kelly Reichardt, but in tone too: the film is a loose, vaguely noir-ish tale with a more low-key beat and looking forward for when the director really takes a hold of that "mumblecore" thing years later as it's about a mother of two and a 2nd-tier Jack Nicholson character think they've accidentally killed someone and they go on the run... not really(?) It's like the American remake of Breathless I might've wanted instead of the weak one with Richard Gere. It's a little too short to be more than a little festival experiment, but it has some good jazz, some good acting, a few genuinely weird and funny moments (some with a quirky Orthodox Jew who laughs a lot), and a final twist that seems needlessly pessimistic. I want to emphasize if you're a Reichardt fan and come to this in retrospect that it's not a bad debut, and not a great one either, though it does speak to her as having more of a sense of humor than her other films might lead one to believe.

In the Everglades a young couple enter into a life of crime almost by accident.First of all, I must give this film credit for its ambition - it aims to have a sense of style, a kind of steamy, sleazy noirish air. The story, though familiar, is acceptable, the script is OK, and the majority of the technical elements are discharged adequately.Unfortunately, it is denied the breath of life by that bane of the low budget indie movie, bad acting. And some - most - of the acting here is shockingly bad. And the more you watch, the more aware you are of how bad it is, and that in turn impacts on the script. It isn't bad, but the acting makes it sound bad.

RIVER OF GRASS is a quintessential example of Slacker film making. The script is sharp and well written with a most effective use of 'voice over'. The narrative is portrayed by a rag-bag cast of characters who could have have fit right in on any 1980's Jim Jarmusch film. Kelly Reichardt, the writer/director, has a sure feel for existential dialog and plot. The story involves a handgun which is lost by a detective, and inadvertently winds up in the possession of his aimless '30 something' daughter, Cozy. She and a barroom pickup participate in an absurd and incongruous shooting, and, in a panic, decide to hit the highway. Devoid of direction or purpose, the protagonists stumble and fumble in a car chase movie where they can't seem to get out of PARK. When they finally make it to the interstate, they are turned around by a trooper because they lack a quarter to pay the toll. Instead of a sensational interaction with the cops, they are more or less ignored. The film was shot on seemingly Third World locations near the Florida Everglades, and even the colors seem washed out and weary which adds to the cheerless experience of the movie. RIVER OF GRASS is an incisive bit of Independent film-making which might be described as 'THELMA AND LOUISE for abject losers'. This is truly a gem in the rough.

"River of Grass" was a non-event film with a nice visual style that reminded me of something between "Stranger Than Paradise" and "Wild at Heart". Yes, there's a big window in there, but that's what makes this film interesting. I don't think it was particularly good and it was often boring, but it really showed potential. I felt it had a few things to say philosophically and its dark comedic version of an often overdone genre was fine, but there was something lacking. Since I know a little bit of the history of this one, I would like to give it some credit, because I think what was missing was funding to ensure it to be a tight AND well-crafted film. Instead it's super short, but paced like it's twice as long.