Blue River [DVD]

What an unusual movie! I found myself liking the Jerry O'Connell character despite the fact that he is ambiguously, and then unambiguously, presented as the "bad guy." The movie has its problems (the Susan Dey and Sam Elliott characters are two dimensional, and thus unconvincing), yet the brothers' characters are developed thoroughly. It is for this reason that the movie deserves five stars. Also, it is rare to see a depiction of intelligent adolescents. Dramas such as this are worth being sought out on Amazon: they deserve to have a life after death at the box office.

I'm a fan of Jerry O'Connell anyway, but this was a really good movie/story. TV special, I think.

I love this movie

Not your average Sam Elliott movie... bought it because he was in it, but it was a bit of a disappointment... Not Sam but the movie itself...

I saw this yesterday on cable and really liked it - Great plot, with some surprises along the way. Does Jerry O'Connell remind anyone else of a young Patrick Swayze? He's actually an excellent actor. And Sam Elliot, well what can you say about him?I highly recommend this movie.

The plot is along the lines of a psychological study that I found engrossing. The intense personality of the older brother draws you in and you find yourself wanting to know what happened to make him this way. He is intelligent, articulate and shows genuine gentleness toward his mother, while the rest of the world is treated with animosity. He deftly portrays someone who is "on the brink", and yet has a great amount of self-control when necessary. Amazing acting!At the outset of this movie, the elder brother appears at the door of the younger brother's home, looking disheveled and lost. They have not seen each other in years, since the elder left home as a very young man, maybe in his twenties. He has no possessions with him and is evidently homeless. The younger brother and his wife welcome the elder, but when he asks to live with them for a while, the younger says no. This is where the movie becomes a flashback focused on their teenage years. The story unfolds fairly rapidly with essentially no wasted scenes.The conclusion of the movie reverts back to the present and the younger brother has a last minute change of heart. It was interesting to see the elder brother, so angry and fierce in his younger years, now appearing to be beaten down and quietly desperate. It just goes to show that all fires, no matter their intensity, ultimately burn themselves out and turn to ash.

I didn't think too much of this movie when I popped in the DVD player "special guest appearance by so and so" is never a good sign. Anyway, it was really good and Sam Elliot played a pretty good size role too. The movie dealt with some pretty heavy emotional issues and did a good job at it. I felt that the messages of the film were good and positive. There was also not a bunch of unnecessary language or sexuality (although I would not reccomend for children due to the subject matters) Definitely worth watching.

(Warning! Major Spoilers)Among the annoyances viewers must endure:Mom so over-the-top with her expressions of faith being presented as the archetypal idiot leading up to her engagement. As a person trying to guide her kids through faith, she is also presented as a complete hypocrite the moment big brother expresses anger toward little brother. But the obvious slam against Christianity is not nearly as troubling as the implied incompetence of the police. What would they have had to say to the young alleged firestarter to make him react the way he did (and where would his young friend have been after they left his house?). Following that, does the story suggests any police pursuit of the actual arsonist?Finally, perhaps most curious of all: right after sis' solo performance where she, Mom and little brother meet, notice the sizable zit on the boys face. The boy is next seen at Principals burning house, where he stops briefly, rides bike to bridge, and we see (in well-lit close-up)that there is no sign of that zit!

Very poor. Sam Elliott is good, but not often on screen. The rest is a poor TV film.

same