Plot
Above all, “The River Why” is a captivating ode to angling.
What makes it unique is a highly philosophical touch that permeates the entire movie.
Gus (Zach Gilford) is a young man who grows up in a family of avid anglers.
Although his parents (Henning Hale-Orviston, played by William Hurt, and Carolina “Ma” Carper-Orviston, played by Kathleen Quinlan) come from seemingly different worlds, their shared passion for fishing fuels their love, in spite of occasional heated arguments between them.
During such an argument, Gus explodes, makes the whole place a mess, and throws his father’s award-winning fish into the fire.
After that, he leaves home and goes to live in a cabin near the river, where he can fish as much as he wants, and not care about anything else, until love (Eddy, played by Amber Heard) crosses his path.
Captivating riverside scenes
Apart from a refreshing plot, the riverside scenes that are everywhere in the movie are really captivating.
These scenes alone make the movie worth to watch, I think.
They inspire and motivate viewers to develop a deep love and affection for the natural environment, and especially for fish-abundant rivers.
Similarities with Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”
I can’t help but notice an analogy in “The River Why” pointing to the popular “The Old Man and the Sea” book written by Ernest Hemingway.
In Hemingway’s novel, a fisherman fights a huge fish in the ocean, and their fight is a fight for survival.
In Gus’s case, things may not be so dramatic, but the idea of a fisherman (or fisherwoman) hunting a fish is the same.
In both cases, a metaphysical relationship is born between the hunter and the prey, as an unexpected outcome of a process as simple, or boring, as fishing can sometimes be for those who are totally ignorant about it.
It is this unpredictable relationship that transforms mentally a fisherman into a different, more insightful person and being, and shifts the balance of power in favor of the hunted fish, against all expectations and odds.
A young’s man escape?
Gus is a young man making his move to escape a suffocating family environment.
But, does he really manage to escape, or does he run around circles without even realizing it?
After all, fishing is what his parents taught him from a very young age, and he does just that, when he leaves to go and live on his own.
His parents’ fishing lessons and teachings are so deeply rooted in him that he follows them literally in every step in his “new” life, unknowingly to himself.
He lives in a state of illusive freedom and independence in his wood cabin, but he is neither free nor independent from a system of beliefs that he has grown up with.
There is a perfect match for everyone
Gus has an unparalleled passion for river fishing that makes it hard for him to find a girl with a similar passion in life.
His parents were lucky to find each other, but there seems to be little hope for him in the love department.
This changes instantly when he meets Eddy.
As soon as he sets his eyes on her, he knows that she is the one for him.
It’s not just love at first sight.
It’s a match made in heaven.
Eddy is a water nymph that steals Gus’s heart, and is going to shape his life from now on.
It’s another like mother-in-law, like daughter-in-law case, as Eddy has so many things in common with Carolina, Gus’s mother.
Rating: 86/100