I am honestly too riveted on River Phoenix to comment about anything else. He was like, the next generation James Dean. And a James Dean he was. I always think Phoenix, antemortem and postmortem both, resembles youth itself, a constant warzone between lethal solicitudes and all-conquering fierceness.
First of all, the guy was cool as hell. Effortlessly so. He couldn't have helped it, he was born pretty. That's kind of a package deal when you choose to put him on screen: his screen presence is so strong that everything else would be dissected, personified through his sophisticated outlook. He'd be the centerpiece, the eye of the hurricane. Then suddenly, it all escalates into an assessment of identity. And you can identify with that.
His signature specialties include the multifaceted ambiguity of his facial expressions and his innate magnetism. Had he not died I imagine he would've grown into a present day Leo di Caprio—if you know what I mean. An ever-evolving actor who keeps outstretching his limits despite, or perhaps even due to, his childhood acclaims.
The movie's got some Rebel Without a Cause vibe, although it goes to the opposite direction. It's well-acted, it has a clear vision about what kind of movie it wants to be, everything is executed in the right amount. And of course Phoenix is pitch perfect in it.
I really wish I could see every single thing he might've stored for us up his sleeve, but his death immortalized his youth, and I guess I can live with that.
7/10.
First of all, the guy was cool as hell. Effortlessly so. He couldn't have helped it, he was born pretty. That's kind of a package deal when you choose to put him on screen: his screen presence is so strong that everything else would be dissected, personified through his sophisticated outlook. He'd be the centerpiece, the eye of the hurricane. Then suddenly, it all escalates into an assessment of identity. And you can identify with that.
His signature specialties include the multifaceted ambiguity of his facial expressions and his innate magnetism. Had he not died I imagine he would've grown into a present day Leo di Caprio—if you know what I mean. An ever-evolving actor who keeps outstretching his limits despite, or perhaps even due to, his childhood acclaims.
The movie's got some Rebel Without a Cause vibe, although it goes to the opposite direction. It's well-acted, it has a clear vision about what kind of movie it wants to be, everything is executed in the right amount. And of course Phoenix is pitch perfect in it.
I really wish I could see every single thing he might've stored for us up his sleeve, but his death immortalized his youth, and I guess I can live with that.
7/10.