Watch Take Me to the River For Free

So much average

People are voting emotionally.

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Cindy (Robin Weigert) is returning home to a family gathering with her Californian husband Don (Richard Schiff) and gay son Ryder (Logan Miller). Her rural Nebraskan relatives don't know about her son's homosexuality. Ryder agrees to follow his young cousin Molly (Ursula Parker) into the barn. After something happens, she runs out screaming and bleeding from her first period. Her angry father Keith (Josh Hamilton) imposes a threatening atmosphere.This is Matt Sobel's first theatrical release. There is an uncomfortable atmosphere throughout. He threatens to take the movie to the next level but it never gets there. At first, I thought that Ryder should tell them about his homosexuality which leaves them at ease about anything happening in the barn. Then I thought it's possible that the revelation would only exacerbate Keith's mistrust and anger. It may help to lay out that rural conservatism more explicitly in the beginning. A lot of things are left unsaid like the relationship between Cindy and Keith. It could have gone further. Oveall, there is a great atmosphere and solid acting. There is good tension but in the end, Sobel does not ignite it to the fullest.

A young man visiting relatives in rural Nebraska goes into a barn to play a game with a 9 year old cousin. She emerges screaming from the barn with a blood-stained dress and, to put it mildly, things go downhill from there.The strongest element of this film is also the element that makes it the most frustrating as a viewer--namely this is a movie that commits completely to holding the point of view of the main character, Ryder. There are undercurrents of emotion and resentment roiling beneath the setting of a folksy family reunion, in particular some very strained and strange dynamics between Ryder's mother and her brother (the father of the 9 year old girl). Ryder is totally lost at sea because not only is he on unfamiliar ground (a gay, California city boy out in the country), but his parents and especially his mother behave in a seemingly irrational manner as events continue to escalate.By the middle of the movie I was thinking "Will someone just PLEASE explain what is going on here?!?!?!". On the one hand, I appreciate that this is exactly how Ryder himself must feel. But on the other hand, I got anxious and frustrated waiting for the film to reveal the background context needed to understand what was happening--to the point that it was hard to sit through scene after scene of coded conversations and meaningful looks.I thought that the acting was very strong across the board, including the children.Aside from feeling like the limited point-of-view was a double-edged sword, my only other criticism is that there were certain character actions that were just way too illogical or dumb. For example, despite the fact that he was all but accused of molesting his cousin, Ryder several times allows himself to be alone with other young girls without any other adults even in earshot. I just didn't believe it. Why if you had been accused (and also implicitly threatened) would you ever allow yourself to be in a position again where there were no witnesses to your behavior? There were a few character decisions (necessary to move the plot along) that didn't feel like real character choices--and they stand out because for the most part the acting and writing does come across as very realistic.Generally speaking this is one I'd recommend, especially if you can watch it for free on a streaming service as I did.

I was kind of surprised to see "Take me to the river" receiving such a low ranking by the community here. Though this is far away of being a Hollywood blockbuster, it uses the tools of lower budget movies well in my opinion and makes up for some lacking production value through its excellent storytelling.The movie evolves around a family reunion, the question what happened to a small girl and what secret the family keeps. In doing so, it manages to depict side topics such as identity, conservatism and pressure in families. All those topics are taken seriously and are depicted in a suitable way.The film is not always easy. There are scenes raising unpleasant questions and concerns and surely this is nothing to relax after work. But it shows quite well how a family in a certain environment can become a perfect host to injustice and cruelty. There might be other movies dealing with the same topic, there might even be better ones. But "Take me to the river" is in itself an excellent movie and I don't have much criticism.

In other reviews I have talked about the hidden eco-system within the modern film. It is a system with its own boundaries and borders and rhythms. Most Hollywood films do not explore the possibilities of this world in depth, but Sobel more than makes up for that in this film. Every shot, every scene, every nuance of the incredibly sparse dialog shows you what is possible, how to get the most from the least.It is a good solid effort and if you are hooked by the opening premise, you will be hooked all the way through.That said, I was surprised when I read the IMDb "summary" for the film because the information there goes far beyond the clues and puzzle pieces in then actual film, and frankly that summary "assumes" the viewer has access to more information about the story (right off the top) than than most viewers will actually have.The acting is first rate. Watching what happens when the world's most naive 17 year old boy meets the world's most sophisticated 9 year old "Lolita" is like watching a play within a play. And works on many levels since, in spite of the sparse dialog, the story itself is like an onion, with layers to peel back as you try to understand it.Big fan of Weigert ever since Deadwood, where she stole entire episodes from heavyweight actors.Recommended.