Turn the River stars Famke Janssen as Kailey Sullivan, a woman rough around the edges and schooled in hard knocks. Divorced from her son's father and without visitation rights, she and her son write letters to each other and meet surreptitiously.
Kailey learns that her son, Gulley, is being abused by his father and is being bullied in school. She decides that the best thing for her and her child would be to leave the country and start a new life in Canada. She puts a plan into motion to organize fake passports and papers, which requires that she raise a fair amount of money.
Kailey starts by using her exceptional skills at the pool to win small bets. After a nasty encounter with a player unhappy at losing, Kailey reveals to her friend Teddy Quinette that she met her ex-husband, David, while she was running an illegal card game room. David left his studies in a seminary to marry a then-pregnant Kailey. David's mother, staunchly religious and unhappy at this turn of events, reported Kailey's illegal activities and then struck a deal with her to make her life easier in return for Kailey getting a divorce and giving away custody of Gulley. With Teddy's help, Kailey begins to organise high-stakes games against skilled players at the pool bar Teddy owns. Kailey eventually collects enough money and prepares to flee with her son in tow. On the morning of departure, she drops by David's house to speak to him for the first time in eleven years. She tells him that she is leaving with Gulley and that he will be better off with her. Kailey then handcuffs David inside the house with the aid of a replica handgun. David's wife returns to find him, and they call the police.
After driving to Canada–US border, Kailey and Gulley have only to catch an early morning bus over the border. The police manage to track them down before they can leave, and Kailey is shot by police who believed her to be reaching for a firearm in her bag. It is left to the viewer to decide if she died or not. The movie ends with a flashback of Gulley walking to Quinette's pool bar for the first time to receive a postcard from his mother.
Entertainment website Variety offered the following analysis:
In casting a woman in a traditionally male role, Eigeman subtly shifts both genre and gender. His heroine adopts the iconography of the hustler movie but feminizes it: The image of a woman camping out on a pool table reads less as rugged than vulnerable. When Kailey gets beaten up, it's not for being a hustler but for being a woman, as male rage explodes on the barest pretext.[2]
Critical reception
As of April 11, 2009, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 67% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 18 reviews.[3]
Awards
Eigeman won the Zicherman Family Foundation Award For Best Screenwriter "for its unflinching realism, pitch perfect dialogue and three-dimensional characters in a world that is so often given to stereotypes."[4]
Janssen was awarded a Special Jury Best Actress Prize for her work in the film "for a brave and touching portrayal of a woman fighting for her child and her life."[4]
The film, Chris Eigeman and Ami Armstrong were nominated for Film Independent's John Cassavetes Award.
Soundtrack
The music on the film's soundtrack is composed by Clogs.
References
^"Famke Janssen does it right on cue in 'Turn the River'". New York Daily News. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
^"Turn the River - Review Print - Variety.com". Variety.
^"Turn the River Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
^ abTurn the River | Starring Famke Janssen | Directed by Chris Eigeman | a Mr. Nice Production
turn, river, 2007, drama, film, written, directed, chris, eigeman, stars, famke, janssen, jaymie, dornan, torn, matt, ross, lois, smith, marin, hinkle, terry, kinney, jordan, bridges, graynor, film, debuted, hamptons, international, film, festival, october, 20. Turn the River is a 2007 drama film written and directed by Chris Eigeman It stars Famke Janssen Jaymie Dornan Rip Torn Matt Ross Lois Smith Marin Hinkle Terry Kinney Jordan Bridges and Ari Graynor The film debuted at the Hamptons International Film Festival on October 17 2007 Janssen did her own pool shooting in the movie 1 Turn the RiverTheatrical release posterDirected byChris EigemanWritten byChris EigemanProduced byAmi ArmstrongStarringFamke Janssen Rip Torn Matt Ross Lois Smith Marin Hinkle Jaymie DornanCinematographyHernan Michael OtanoEdited byMichael LaHaieMusic byClogsProductioncompaniesBandora Mr NiceDistributed byScreen Media FilmsRelease datesOctober 17 2007 2007 10 17 Hamptons International Film Festival May 9 2008 2008 05 09 United States Running time92 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Themes 4 Critical reception 5 Awards 6 Soundtrack 7 References 8 External linksPlot EditTurn the River stars Famke Janssen as Kailey Sullivan a woman rough around the edges and schooled in hard knocks Divorced from her son s father and without visitation rights she and her son write letters to each other and meet surreptitiously Kailey learns that her son Gulley is being abused by his father and is being bullied in school She decides that the best thing for her and her child would be to leave the country and start a new life in Canada She puts a plan into motion to organize fake passports and papers which requires that she raise a fair amount of money Kailey starts by using her exceptional skills at the pool to win small bets After a nasty encounter with a player unhappy at losing Kailey reveals to her friend Teddy Quinette that she met her ex husband David while she was running an illegal card game room David left his studies in a seminary to marry a then pregnant Kailey David s mother staunchly religious and unhappy at this turn of events reported Kailey s illegal activities and then struck a deal with her to make her life easier in return for Kailey getting a divorce and giving away custody of Gulley With Teddy s help Kailey begins to organise high stakes games against skilled players at the pool bar Teddy owns Kailey eventually collects enough money and prepares to flee with her son in tow On the morning of departure she drops by David s house to speak to him for the first time in eleven years She tells him that she is leaving with Gulley and that he will be better off with her Kailey then handcuffs David inside the house with the aid of a replica handgun David s wife returns to find him and they call the police After driving to Canada US border Kailey and Gulley have only to catch an early morning bus over the border The police manage to track them down before they can leave and Kailey is shot by police who believed her to be reaching for a firearm in her bag It is left to the viewer to decide if she died or not The movie ends with a flashback of Gulley walking to Quinette s pool bar for the first time to receive a postcard from his mother Cast EditFamke Janssen as Kailey Sullivan Jaymie Dornan as Gulley Rip Torn as Teddy Quinette Matt Ross as David Lois Smith as Abigail Marin Hinkle as Ellen Terry Kinney as Markus Jordan Bridges as Brad Ari Graynor as Charlotte John Juback as Duncan Tony Robles as Ralphie Santo D Asaro as Scott Zoe Lister Jones as Kat Elizabeth Atkeson as Sally Joseph Siravo as WarrenThemes EditEntertainment website Variety offered the following analysis In casting a woman in a traditionally male role Eigeman subtly shifts both genre and gender His heroine adopts the iconography of the hustler movie but feminizes it The image of a woman camping out on a pool table reads less as rugged than vulnerable When Kailey gets beaten up it s not for being a hustler but for being a woman as male rage explodes on the barest pretext 2 Critical reception EditAs of April 11 2009 the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 67 of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 18 reviews 3 Awards EditEigeman won the Zicherman Family Foundation Award For Best Screenwriter for its unflinching realism pitch perfect dialogue and three dimensional characters in a world that is so often given to stereotypes 4 Janssen was awarded a Special Jury Best Actress Prize for her work in the film for a brave and touching portrayal of a woman fighting for her child and her life 4 The film Chris Eigeman and Ami Armstrong were nominated for Film Independent s John Cassavetes Award Soundtrack EditThe music on the film s soundtrack is composed by Clogs References Edit Famke Janssen does it right on cue in Turn the River New York Daily News 2 May 2008 Retrieved 18 September 2022 Turn the River Review Print Variety com Variety Turn the River Movie Reviews Pictures Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved 2008 05 13 a b Turn the River Starring Famke Janssen Directed by Chris Eigeman a Mr Nice ProductionExternal links EditTurn the River at IMDb Turn the River at Rotten Tomatoes Turn the River at Metacritic Turn the River at AllMovie Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Turn the River amp oldid 1141129936, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
