RIVER (Jamie M. Dagg). 87 minutes. Opens Friday (March 11). See listing. Rating: NNN
Writer/director Jamie M. Dagg’s River doesn’t have the most original premise, but the execution makes it intriguing.
Set in Laos, where an American doctor (Rossif Sutherland) tries to evade the authorities after a scuffle that leaves an Australian tourist dead, it stays entirely in the moment. The protagonist grapples with each new complication as it arises while doing his best not to think about why he’s ended up on the run.
From moment to moment, it’s quite compelling, and Sutherland’s totally convincing as a panicked, desperate young man. It’s only in the last act, when the action downshifts into a calmer gear, that the dramatic structure becomes a little too obvious.