The River King (2005)

Abel Grey is sent to investigate the death of a boy from an exclusive local school, who is found floating in the river. Fearing scandal, the school insists it was suicide. But after ... See full summary »

Director:

Nick Willing

Writers:

Alice Hoffman (novel), David Kane (screenplay)

Stars:

Edward Burns, Jennifer Ehle, Thomas Gibson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Edward Burns	...	Abel Grey
Jennifer Ehle	...	Betsy Chase
Thomas Gibson	...	August 'Gus' Pierce
John Kapelos	...	Joey Tosh
Jamie Thomas King	...	Harry McKenna (as Jamie King)
Rachelle Lefevre	...	Carlin Leander
Bruce Murphy	...	Joey's Son
David Gibson McLean	...	Young Abel (as David Maclean)
Julian Rhind-Tutt	...	Eric Herman
Ross Petty	...	The Dean
David Christoffel	...	Matt Farris
Richard Fitzpatrick	...	Police Chief
Karl Pruner	...	Walter Pierce
Jonathan Malen	...	Nathaniel Gibb
Jeff A. Wright	...	Robbie (as Jeff Wright)

Storyline

Abel Grey is sent to investigate the death of a boy from an exclusive local school, who is found floating in the river. Fearing scandal, the school insists it was suicide. But after discovering from the boy's girlfriend, Carlin, that he was being badly bullied, Abel suspects that a dangerous schoolboy initiation has gone horribly wrong and he secretly solicits the help of a sympathetic teacher, Betsy. He is warned off the investigation by his boss, as the school is a generous benefactor to the Police benevolent fund. Abel, however, cannot let the case go, not only because his own brother committed suicide years before, but also it seems that the spirit of the dead boy is leaving them clues as to what really happened that night.

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Plot Keywords:

suicide | teacher | hazing | policeman | private school | 

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Taglines:

It's the truth that haunts us

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violent images

Details

Official Sites:

Myriad Pictures [us]

Country:

Canada UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 2005 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Bajo el hielo

Filming Locations:

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kismet Film Company, imX Communications, Myriad Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 95 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the end of the film, Abel's father, Ernest, recalls how Abel's brother had hugged him the day that he committed suicide. Ernest then remarks that he found it strange because it wasn't Frank's way. This dialogue is taken directly from a scene where Abel is talking to his mother rather than his father.

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Goofs

The amount of snow on the ground and sidewalks changes throughout the movie. This is noticeable starting in the opening minutes of the movie when Abel and Joey are driving through town.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Joey Tosh: Get in there!

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Soundtracks

"Quel Guardo Il Cavaliere"
Written by Gaetano Donizetti
From Donizetti: Don Pasquale
Performed by Graziella Pareto (soprano) (HMV DB 567)
Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.

User Reviews

Slow; Poorly Acted; Needed a good editor

This movie has many problems. The acting is not great. It is slow. It does not develop the characters. And the plot is not interesting enough, nor developed enough.

They never develop any of the characters, not even the main character Abe. They had many chances to develop his character, but instead just kept adding in trivial scenes. It feels as if they are trying to get "through" all of the book, instead of correctly editing it down to a good movie.

Even the name of the movie has nothing really to do w/ the plot.

Finally, Ed Burns was completely miscast. He is WAY too aristocratic to be a cop. Besides his accent is completely incorrect for the local, etc. And he can NOT disguise it.