Carries "Medicine River" on his considerable acting talent. He is surrounded with interesting characters, and the scenery is quite beautiful. Unfortunately the storyline is predictable and redundant, which seriously weakens the film. The basketball angle is both not believable, and poorly staged as well. The love angle is both frustrating and unresolved, leaving the viewer somewhat perplexed. The missing brother who never materializes is another unanswered question left dangling uncomfortably. The entire movie just sort of meanders along to a very underwhelming conclusion. There is no violence, no nudity, and quite honestly very little story. - MERK
12 Reviews
Don't let ignorance stop you from watching this movie
darrenandnatalie24 November 2004
Medicine River, a film directed by Stuart Margolin, is somewhat of a hidden gem. Based on Thomas King's award winning novel of the same name, the story begins by introducing the lead character Will(Graham Greene). Will, a photojournalist, is imprisoned in a war torn country ruled by a gorilla dictatorship. He is freed after he agrees to take portraits of the leader, and heads back to his Toronto home to his boss/lover Ellen(Janet-Laine Green). After checking his answering machine, he learns that his brother James has left various messages regarding their mother's ill health. Will had been gone so long, that the final messages left by his brother James detailed his mother's death. On the news of his mother's death Will packs his bags and leaves for his childhood home(Medicine River, Alberta, Canada) in order to make it in time for her funeral. The only memories of the reserve was of his brother James. However, he arrives to an empty home. Fatigued by the latest events he falls asleep, only to be woken up by the town's friendly con-artist Harlan(Tom Jackson). Through some somewhat witty dailogue, Will still has no clue where his brother was. Will does discovers that he missed his mother's funeral. When he tries to go home, Harlan and some other residents of the community try to persuade him to stay to help them. If I have it correct, the town was granted a loan from the Canadian government to take pictures of local wildlife(which do not frequent their reserve). So they spent the money on jerseys for their community's basketball team, and then took out a loan to pay for the camera equipment they originally were given money for. In theory they bought the jerseys to give the team motivation to win the championship which was worth $5000...which would therefore pay for the camera loan, and in turn they can make a calendar of the locals to pay for the original loan. Will is suckered into becoming their photographer since Harlan has no idea how to run the equipment(they bought one role of film because they figured 12 months in a year, 24 exposures...more than enough...ha!) Will starts to learn about his heritage, and who he is, and falls in love with a local woman, Louise(Shiela Tousy). Does Will ever see James...you'll have to watch to find out. I started by stating that this movie is a hidden gem. The movie is fairly low-budget, made for TV, and did not have the mass hype that is associated with blockbuster movies. However, all this does not matter in regards to this film. The landscape shots really are beautiful: the plateaus, forests and rivers really capture the essence of the land. The dialogue is somewhat colloquial, it has a good mixture concerning serious issues with humor. The acting is natural, and really shows these unique individuals, and at the same time it pokes fun at society's view of the "Hollywood Indian". The humor was not knee-slapping funny, but it was a good mix of one liners and reoccurring witty remarks. I recommend this movie for anyone(ignorant and otherwise) that would like a refreshing change in pace from some of the no-brainer Hollywood pics.
A Must-See Film
jarth-24 April 2002
"Medicine River" is a very moving picture. It follows Will Horse Capture (Graham Greene), a Metis man, on his journey of self-discovery, as he returns to his hometown following the death of his mother. Along the way, through the help of friend Harlen Bigbear (Tom Jackson) and others, he is slowly re-introduced to many townspeople and tribal elders. This movie is beautifully scripted and acted.
An alright film with an all star cast
LaxFan946 March 2004
I thought this film to be quite good since it had an all star cast in it. I really liked the storyline plot where Graham Greene was told to go back to Alberta for his mom's funeral but couldn't make it. As a result he was weeks late for it and wanted to stay a lot longer since he felt really bad about missing his mom's funeral, and what was so funny about it was that everyone in the community was coming up with ways to keep him there as long as they can.
However I think this film should have been made as a drama rather than a comedy because when a film like this starts off on a serious note such as someone getting notified that their mother had recently passed away, I think that would be reason enough for a film like this to be considered as a drama.
But......... anyways........... this is why I gave this film a 5 out of 10.
However I think this film should have been made as a drama rather than a comedy because when a film like this starts off on a serious note such as someone getting notified that their mother had recently passed away, I think that would be reason enough for a film like this to be considered as a drama.
But......... anyways........... this is why I gave this film a 5 out of 10.
My thoughts on "Medicine River"
okotokspaul23 November 2006
I saw this movie on TV about 6 times and really enjoyed it.Gave my copy of it to someone hoping to re-record it - usual thing happened - they didn't repeat so had to get a copy of it from the US.Have also got the book which is slightly different. Still a very good "feel good" film. I never tire of watching it!! All the characters are believable and especially like Harlen. I think it portrays a small town environment down to a tee, with everyone seeming to know everyone! It was filmed in the towns of High River and Okotoks (hence me email address) which I have always wanted to visit. This is probably one of my "fav" films of all time and know a few people that really like it.
Margolin could have put more into it.
coppercider20 April 2006
Although Margolin picked up on several key elements of the novel, he did a poor job at fully representing Thomas King's novel. The acting was less than good and the plot is slow to develop, with no real climax, as one would expect from any good film. Graham Greene does an o.k. job in terms of acting for this film, although his love scenes certainly leave something to be desired. Even when in the arms of his Toronto girlfriend, he shows little emotion or affection, making it hard to believe that he is really putting any effort into the performance. It is clear that the film is made for TV and the quality reflects as such. My recommendation would be: don't read the novel before watching the film.
Warm and comical community
kevinpweir22 May 2002
I really enjoyed this film. It has a northern flair and friendly pace. Don't expect an action thriller though. This is a warm film emphasizing the role of community in ones search for himself. It wonderfully illustrates the native American community in a positive and accurate light.
nice try, but incredibly weak
greenerjeff19 October 2001
I actually had to analyze this movie in class(it was similar to Momaday's book The Way To Rainy Mountain). Here's what's wrong with it: the most obvious is the production quality -- the video and audio are both rough (just try to understand that answering machine in the beginning).
Here's mainly what's wrong with the story: it's predictable, its jokes are often weak, as well as its characters and their development and the dialogue, and the conniving made to keep Will in the town -- while meant to be cute -- is obvious and weak. It's a story of one's discovery of his cultural self, a return to his tribal family, and it's almost a good attempt, but it really falls short because it never explains why Will left in the first place and it doesn't demonstrate much connection to the tribe's culture by the community. In fact, the residents of Medicine River (such a lame name!) seem no different than those of any other small-town community, they just happen to all be Native American. And how the hell could a basketball team that bad get into any championship?!
Lastly, the acting was dreadfully amateur, with the exception of Graham Greene and his love interest (the supposed symbolic character of Will belonging with his people and not the "white man"). They both did their best with the material, but still fell short.
The only redeeming quality of the entire movie is the woman who wants to raise her baby on her own. This is incredible multi-cultural radicalism, for even today the issue is somewhat controversial. Still, overall this is not a recommendable piece of Graham Greene's filmography. In fact, you could almost blackmail him for it. 4/10
Here's mainly what's wrong with the story: it's predictable, its jokes are often weak, as well as its characters and their development and the dialogue, and the conniving made to keep Will in the town -- while meant to be cute -- is obvious and weak. It's a story of one's discovery of his cultural self, a return to his tribal family, and it's almost a good attempt, but it really falls short because it never explains why Will left in the first place and it doesn't demonstrate much connection to the tribe's culture by the community. In fact, the residents of Medicine River (such a lame name!) seem no different than those of any other small-town community, they just happen to all be Native American. And how the hell could a basketball team that bad get into any championship?!
Lastly, the acting was dreadfully amateur, with the exception of Graham Greene and his love interest (the supposed symbolic character of Will belonging with his people and not the "white man"). They both did their best with the material, but still fell short.
The only redeeming quality of the entire movie is the woman who wants to raise her baby on her own. This is incredible multi-cultural radicalism, for even today the issue is somewhat controversial. Still, overall this is not a recommendable piece of Graham Greene's filmography. In fact, you could almost blackmail him for it. 4/10
Gentle Schtick
dlhunt26 January 2002
Will (Graham Greene) is a photojournalist who has been through gruelling shoots in dangerous places for the sake of front page pictures in the newspapers. The movie opens with Will being imprisoned in some fictional Latin-American country ruled by the iron fist of a dictator. The only way he frees himself from his solitary makeshift cell -- really a hole in the ground -- is that he does a portrait of the dictator.
Arriving home in Toronto, Will's agent/girlfriend Ellen (Janet-Laine Green) is working to fill his already busy schedule. Then, suddenly, comes the phone call about the death of his mother on a reserve in Alberta. It is upon his arrival at the reserve he sees stark differences in his lifestyle and that of the residents.
Will discovers that he is weeks late for his mother's funeral and then tries to go home to his busy schedule. But the residents of the community try to persuade him to stay in some very funny ways including making him take photos for a yearbook and putting him on the local basketball team.
In the role of Bertha Morely, Tina Louise Bomberry shines as a co-conspirator in trying to keep Will on the reserve. She also helps to engineer the meeting of Will and pregnant Louise (Sheila Tousy) who wants to raise her child alone.
I liked this movie because Graham Greene and Tom Jackson (as Harlan) work very well together. The two are foils for each other in a similar way to comedy teams like Wayne and Shuster.
The movie as a whole says something about what we value in life and how we live it. Do we reconnect with ourselves and does life come into clearer focus when we rejoin our family roots and heritage?
While the humour is not of the belly-laugh variety, it is more gentle schtick. This movie is part of a string of positive stories about our first nations people instead of the old "angry Indian" themes we have seen in other stories on TV and in cinemas.
Worth seeing!
Arriving home in Toronto, Will's agent/girlfriend Ellen (Janet-Laine Green) is working to fill his already busy schedule. Then, suddenly, comes the phone call about the death of his mother on a reserve in Alberta. It is upon his arrival at the reserve he sees stark differences in his lifestyle and that of the residents.
Will discovers that he is weeks late for his mother's funeral and then tries to go home to his busy schedule. But the residents of the community try to persuade him to stay in some very funny ways including making him take photos for a yearbook and putting him on the local basketball team.
In the role of Bertha Morely, Tina Louise Bomberry shines as a co-conspirator in trying to keep Will on the reserve. She also helps to engineer the meeting of Will and pregnant Louise (Sheila Tousy) who wants to raise her child alone.
I liked this movie because Graham Greene and Tom Jackson (as Harlan) work very well together. The two are foils for each other in a similar way to comedy teams like Wayne and Shuster.
The movie as a whole says something about what we value in life and how we live it. Do we reconnect with ourselves and does life come into clearer focus when we rejoin our family roots and heritage?
While the humour is not of the belly-laugh variety, it is more gentle schtick. This movie is part of a string of positive stories about our first nations people instead of the old "angry Indian" themes we have seen in other stories on TV and in cinemas.
Worth seeing!
Great Indian movie
REdmo404219 June 2002
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. All the actors were perfect in their parts, especially Graham Greene and Tom Jackson. Life on the reservation in this movie brought the closeness of the community, including many older actors and actresses who were a great asset to the story. The scenery was beautiful and it was just a really good "feel-good" movie. I would recommend it to anyone who is tired of shoot-em-up westerns and violence.
A disappointing adaptation
sgor7 November 2004
I was very excited when I heard there was a film adaptation of Thomas King's novel. Particularly as it starred Graham Greene and Tom Jackson both of whom I adore. I was very disappointed once I saw the film. The book is very light-hearted and has a mood and atmosphere that the film really didn't capture. And the film's story ended up being very far removed from the novel's which is a big reason that the comedy seems to have been lost.
I don't completely blame the screenwriter. From the novel it would have been very difficult to put together a film script. It was really more a series of vignettes. There is a through line but I'm not sure it was strong enough to sustain a film. Where it would have worked very well is in television. I think that the mistake here was the choice of medium.
I don't completely blame the screenwriter. From the novel it would have been very difficult to put together a film script. It was really more a series of vignettes. There is a through line but I'm not sure it was strong enough to sustain a film. Where it would have worked very well is in television. I think that the mistake here was the choice of medium.
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