The River is a 1984 American Southern Gothicdrama film directed by Mark Rydell and written by Robert Dillon and Julian Barry, who based the screenplay on actual stories of East Tennessee farmers who lost their crops due to damage caused by bad weather, and having to reluctantly work industrial jobs as strikebreakers in nearby cities to avoid foreclosure on their farmland.
Starring Sissy Spacek, Mel Gibson (in his American film debut[1]), and Scott Glenn, the film is set in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians countryside of East Tennessee where farm couple Tom and Mae Garvey, played by Spacek and Gibson, and their children struggle to operate their multi-generational family farm along the banks of a river prone to flooding destroying their crops, and a increasingly dire financial situation due to loan rejections and a risk of foreclosure. Their financial situation prompts Gibson's character to find work at a steel mill, unknowingly as a strikebreaker, leading to confrontations with striking millworkers. After surveying a flood event, land developer Joe Wade, played by Glenn, aggressively seeks to acquire farmland, including the Garvey farm, for a massive dam-based economic development project he is spearheading.
Filming took place from September to December 1983 primarily in East Tennessee on farmland in Hawkins County along the banks of the Holston River for the Garvey farm, with additional scenes shot in Jonesborough for the farm auction scenes, Gate City, Virginia and Kingsport, Tennessee for the scenes depicting the small towns near the Garvey farm, and in Birmingham, Alabama for industrial scenes depicting the steel mill where Tom Garvey finds work.
The River was the last of a trio of "farm films" released by Hollywood in 1984, with the others being Country and Places in the Heart. It was theatrically released on December 19, 1984, by Universal Pictures. It was a box office failure, grossing only $11.5 million against a $18 million budget.
The film received mixed reviews with critics praising Spacek and Glenn's performances, the musical score by composer John Williams, and the cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond, but criticizing the screenplay, execution, and Gibson's performance.[1][4]
Tom and Mae Garvey are a hard-working couple living with their two children on the east Tennessee farm owned by Tom's family for generations. They and many of their neighbors have hit hard times as of late. A downturn in the economy has led to dwindling land prices.
Their biggest problem has been that their crop land has been prone to flooding as the property is adjacent to a river. Manipulating the powers that be include local senator Neiswinder and the local bank. Joe Wade, who also grew up in the area and now runs the local milling company that sets the local grain prices, is secretly working to buy up the properties along the river so he can build a dam. The dam would generate electricity but more importantly for Wade, it would provide irrigation opportunities for farm properties away from the river, such as his own.
Wade's maneuverings coupled with many other farming problems makes it increasingly difficult for Tom and Mae to hold on to their farm. Tom is determined at any cost stay on the land of his ancestors. Through his cousin, Tom begins work at a steel factory in order to prevent foreclosure on his farm, only finding out he's a strikebreaker as they're crossing the picket lines. Work in the mill is incredibly hard, the conditions are tough and pay is meager.
The rest of the Garvey family is left alone while Tom is away working. Mae is involved in an accident on the farm where she loses a lot of blood and almost her arm. Some time later, Tom invites his family to come visit him in the city where he and Mae compare how things are going in their daily lives now spent apart. The strike ends, but as part of the returning workers' deal, the strike breakers must walk out of the factory without the protection they had when entering. Instead of an all-out fight, the workers and scabs observe one another, recognizing each other's desperation before the workers begin shaming the scabs.
Tom returns to the farm and is pleased with the crops but Wade has Tom's corn inspected. Wade offers less than what the crop cost Tom to plant which leads to a confrontation where Wade reveals his plans for a hydroelectric dam and the redevelopment of Tom's land. Tom returns to the farm where his machinery is failing and another flood threatens the farm.
An exhausted Mae finally confronts Tom over his stubbornness, as he is continuing to fight a losing battle with Wade and the river. The farming community bands together to build a levee providing some relief. Wade arrives with a truck full of bankrupt farmers intent on dismantling the levee for cash. Wade offers the farmers on Tom's side a bonus if they sabotage the levee. Tom pleads with both sides, many of whom were in Tom's shoes but lost their farms, however the levee is breached and the floodwaters flow in. Despite all of this, Tom begins picking up sandbags to repair the levee alone. Inspired by his dedication, his family and eventually, the onlookers help Tom repair the levee. Wade realizes he's lost the battle and admires Tom's determination, but points out that sooner or later nature will upend Tom's farm and Wade will be waiting.
Director Mark Rydell viewed the characters in this drama as iconicly American, and he was eager to cast Sissy Spacek as the farm wife because of her performance in Coal Miner's Daughter and her home on a farm near Charlottesville, Virginia. Rydell said, "She is the consummate American rural young woman, with strength and fiber and a luminous quality." Mel Gibson begged Rydell to let him play the Tennessee farmer who reminded him of his father, but the director was reluctant because of Gibson's Australian accent. Before Gibson left for England to film The Bounty, he begged Rydell not to cast the part yet. Rydell recalled, "He came back to my house in Los Angeles and started reading the script, talking, reading the newspaper, in this perfect Tennessee accent. I was really impressed, even when he stood next to Sissy, who's like a tuning fork when it comes to accents, he had damn well done it." For the role of Lewis Garvey, the oldest son of the Garvey family, Lynn Stalmaster cast East Tennessee native Shane Bailey, who grew up east of the farm's filming location in the town of Surgoinsville, Tennessee, out of thousands of boys from across the country.[5] Stalmaster chose Becky Jo Lynch, a native of Jonesborough, Tennessee, for the role of Beth Garvey, the younger daughter of the Garvey family.[6]
The River was filmed in the Holston Valley area of Church Hill, Tennessee. The filmmakers purchased 440 acres (1.8km2) along the Holston River for the farm set and planted corn. Most of the filming was done along Goshen Valley Road and around the Goshen Valley Park area. Goshen Valley Road heads south from highway 11W in Church Hill, Tennessee. The cast and their families moved to the area a month before the start of production to connect with the local people and learn farming skills. The floods in the film were supplied by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Army Corps of Engineers with water from the Fort Patrick Henry Dam. The bank and downtown scenes were filmed in the town of Gate City, Virginia. The tent city and a few other scenes were filmed in Kingsport, Tennessee, while some factory scenes were filmed in Birmingham, Alabama. Scenes that were filmed at Double Springs Baptist Church in Jonesborough, Tennessee did not make the final cut of the movie. The film was completed for under $18 million.[7][8]
Music
The musical score was composed and conducted by John Williams and also featured songs by country artists including George Strait.
It was announced that Intrada Records will release an expanded and remastered version of Williams' score on May 5, 2020.[9] The new release will feature the complete score (including previous and unheard content) and the original soundtrack album.
Release
In October 1984, community members and local agencies organized a two-day music festival on the production site of the Garvey family farm in Hawkins County to serve as a reunion of cast members and film crew to celebrate the release of the film.[10]
The Riverpremiered at the Beekman Theatre in the Upper East Side neighborhood of New York City on December 19, 1984.[11] An additional local premiere was held in Kingsport, Tennessee at the Eastman Chemical Company's Toy F. Reid Center on their Kingsport plant site, with Bailey and Lynch in attendance.[5]
Reception
Box office
The film opened Wednesday, December 19, 1984, in 3 theaters and grossed $40,540 in its first seven days to Christmas Day[12] and went on to gross $11.5 million in the United States and Canada.[3]
The film received mixed reviews, with praise for the performances by Sissy Spacek and Scott Glenn, the score by John Williams, and the cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond.[13][14]
The River was the last of three films released in 1984, including Country and Places in the Heart, that shared the themes of a family's devotion to their farm, the destructive force of nature, an unsympathetic bureaucracy and a determined woman who binds her family together.[15]
On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 27% on Rotten Tomatoes from 22 critics.[16]Mel Gibson later regretted that his portrayal of Tom Garvey was so stubborn that the audience lost sympathy, and said that he had been miscast for the role because he was too young and "pretty" at the time.[citation needed]
After filming had wrapped up on the production of the The River, the 440-acre parcel along the Holston River that Universal Studios purchased for the Garvey family farm was gifted to the government of Hawkins County for the community's generosity and help given during the filming of the feature.[17]
Hawkins County redeveloped the farmland and surrounding woodlands into a public park known as Laurel Run Park in August of 1985.[17][18]
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