RIVER OF GRASS

There isn’t much to say about Kelly Reichardt’s feature debut that hasn’t already been said about Terrence Malick’s Badlands. They’re practically the same story - A dangerous drifter (“Lee”) goes on the run with a young naive woman (“Cozy”) after a somewhat(?) accidental violent crime is committed. Both films utilize the same style of dreamy voiceover, Larry Fessenden’s performance as Lee borrows heavily from Martin Sheen in Bandlands, and the relationship between “Cozy” and her husband mirror that of Sissy Spacek & Warren Oates in Badlands.

Reichardt herself has admitted to the Malick influence many times. Not only are the plots to both films eerily similar but they also look alike…

I was clearly watching Terrence Malick - Kelly Reichardt, aintitcool.com

Badlands / River Of Grass

Badlands / River Of Grass

Badlands /
River Of Grass

Badlands /
River Of Grass

Badlands /
River Of Grass

What makes the connection to Badlands even stronger is that both films, which also happen to be feature debuts, are loosely based on real events. Badlands is loosely based on a real murder whereas River Of Grass is loosely based on Reichardt’s observations of her mother’s work as a police officer in southern Florida…

I grew up in Miami in the 1970s. My father used to come home early in the mornings after a long night of overtime, unclip the holster from his belt, pour himself a tall glass of milk and say, “Ah crime pays.” My mom carried her holster in her purse and in a pinch was as likely to pull out a ratty hairbrush as a 38. My dad worked the midnight shift. His car had Dade Country Crime Scene painted on the sides. My mom was an undercover narcotics agent and always had a different car – ones that were non-descript and which apparently you were not supposed to transport children in. I know this because my sister and I did a lot of crouching on the floor when we would enter certain parking lots - Kelly Reichardt, this Long century

The further we stray from Reichardt’s debut the further we stray from her southern roots. Because there was a 12 year gap between River Of Grass and her sophomore feature (Old Joy), it often gets left out of the conversation or is brushed aside as just a Malick ripoff because it doesn’t fit the mold of her other films. Once she returned with Old Joy, her style was slightly reinvented. No longer was the Florida-based Reichardt a student of 70’s-era Malick. She returned as a Charles Benning/Chantal Akerman influenced filmmaker based out of Oregon. There was no more dreamy voiceover narration. Reichardt’s style, which has pretty much stayed in the same lane post-Old Joy, is more rooted in nature with straightforward storytelling. Some critics even billed her as being from Portland. But Reichardt has never been ashamed of her southern roots. Only a southerner could make something like River Of Grass. Instead of palm trees and the strip, Reichardt shows us the dirt roads, mobile homes & dirty used records that most outsiders don’t usually associate with Miami/southern Florida. It’s often said that while geographically Miami is the south, it still doesn’t feel like the south. Kelly Reichardt dispels that myth with River Of Grass.

What I used to consider a complete rip-off (River Of Grass) is now something I consider to be a small personal masterpiece with subconscious connections to other films I love ranging from Ms. 45 to Morvern Callar…

Another coincidental similarity with Morvern Callar...

River Of Grass /
Morvern Callar

And to be clear - the Akerman/Benning influence has always been there…

 

News From Home / One Way Boogie, 27 Years Later / River Of Grass

In fairness, River Of Grass wasn’t always the easiest to come by but it’s now available on blu-ray & various streaming platforms. I high recommend this film because the more Reichardt masters her earthy-crunchy nature-based post-Old Joy style that we’re all used to, the more River Of Grass remains a standalone gem. I’d honestly love for  Reichardt to return to this style of filmmaking at least one more time just to add some variety to her filmography.