The River Wild

In a change-of-pace role designed to prove that she could carry high-concept genre films as well as character-driven dramas, Meryl Streep headlined this fast-paced adventure as Gail, a whitewater rafting guide. For a vacation, Gail is accompanying her son Roarke (Joseph Mazzello) and workaholic ...more

While the "vacationing family in peril" is not a new construct, director Curtis Hanson, in one of his pre-L.A. Confidential genre films, brings a fresh and palpable fear to the scenario in The River Wild. Due to the believable performances -- led by Meryl Streep in a departure and the wolfish Kevin Bacon in his familiar sheep's clothing -- the film crackles with a sense of normalcy spinning out of control. In less skillful hands, the good deed of picking up stranded boaters along a rocky river ...more