The River Why

The River Why is less a movie than a testament to the spirituality of fishing. In a sense, it's a stripped down version of A River Runs Through It, with much less scope and reduced conflict. Anyone into fishing should like it, the rest, like me, may find themselves snoozing.

Zach Gilford stars as a young man who has grown up fishing. His father, William Hurt, who uses Isaak Walton's The Compleat Angler as others use a Bible, is a stuffed shirt. He's the kind of guy who wears a tie while fly fishing. His mother, Kathleen Quinlan, is a Mammy Yokum type who prefers using bait to fish--she's disparaging referred to as a "worm plunker."

We are led to believe that Gilford's parents have constant arguments about what is the better method of fishing, and these cause him to leave home and hole up in a cabin in the woods. You would think they would have agreed to disagree a long time ago. Nevertheless, Gilford lives an idyllic existence, doing nothing but fishing and making lures, which he sells to a local shop (presumably this is how he makes his living).

He later meets the sylph-like Amber Heard, a beautiful girl who shares his passion for fishing. She has a unique form of fishing--once the creature takes the bite, she tosses the pole in the water and dives in and swims after it. I'm guessing this wouldn't work if one hooked a marlin.

There's really very little going on here, plot-wise. Gilford and Heard fall into a romance without much fuss (at first she's annoyed that he was spying on her while skinny-dipping, but that passes). I'm guessing the novel this is based on goes much deeper into the character's connection with the land, and the life lessons he learns.

The film was directed by Matthew Leutwyler, who captures some pretty pictures along Oregon rivers. After seeing it, though, I'm no more likely to stand in frigid water to my waist, casting a line.