The River Wild (1994)

The River Wild - 1994

In 1994's "The River Wild", a family whitewater rafting vacation turns deadly when a pair of thieves hijack their trip and force one of them to lead them down a series of extremely dangerous rapids.

The film's cast includes Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, David Strathairn, Joseph Mazzello, John C. Reilly, Benjamin Bratt, and Stephanie Sawyer.

Gail and Tom Hartman are a married couple who have hit a bit of a rough patch.  And they can't seem to find a way to work through it.  Tom is an architect.  Gail is a teacher and a former river rafting guide.

Gail decides to take their son, Rourke, on a rafting trip as a getaway from their family situation.  She's upset about her marriage and can't see a way to make it work.

When Tom arrives and unexpectedly decides to join them, Gail is thrilled.

They set out with their dog, Maggie, on the rafting adventure of a lifetime.

The scenery is beautiful, and they take it all in as they enjoy a leisurely ride down the river.

Rourke is so excited to go down his first rapids.  Tom isn't nearly as happy.  He gets thrown off the back of the raft, and Gail laughingly helps him back in.

Along the way, they meet three other rafters.  One of them appears injured, but claims it is just a cramp.  They exchange pleasantries and continue on their way.

The Hartmans seems to enjoy their time fishing, camping, and rafting down the river.

One day they meet two of the three stranded rafters.  They claim the other one was their guide and he hiked out after an argument.  Gail agrees to help them navigate down the river.  The guys' names are Wade and Terry.

Strangely, one morning Wade and Terry insist that Rourke accompany them in their boat.  Gail and Tom disagree, but Wade says it'll be fine because Gail will be right there guiding them.

Once they all meet up, Gail and Tom send Rourke walking along the riverbank and break away so they can meet him and escape from Wade and Terry.

Wade catches up with them and puts an end to their escape plans.  The Hartmans realize that Wade and Terry are thieves and that they killed their other partner and are looking for a way to evade capture by heading down the river.  Tom manages to escape one night.  So does the dog Maggie.

Gail and Rourke now have to make their way down the treacherous river with Wade and Terry knowing their very lives are on the line.

Tom is never far behind.  He and Maggie hurry to get ahead of the raft and keep going down the river to find a place to meet it.

The water gets more and more dangerous.  Gail expertly manages it, though she's never ventured this far into the off limits whitewater.

Tom catches up with them and creates a diversion so that Gail can get the gun away from Wade.  When she does, Gail quickly takes control of the situation once more.

Having completed their journey, the family comes together stronger than ever.

Cast rundown:

   Meryl Streep.................................Gail Hartman

   Kevin Bacon..................................Wade

   David Strathairn............................Tom Hartman

   Joseph Mazzello.............................Rourke Hartman

   John C. Reilly.................................Terry

   Benjamin Bratt..............................Ranger Johnny

   Stephanie Sawyer..........................Willa Hartman

And that's it for The River Wild.  The whitewater rafting scenes were filmed in several locations including the Kootenai River in Montana, the Rogue River in Oregon, and the Colorado River.  Meryl Streep did many of her own stunts on the milder parts of the rivers.  An expert professional guide did the much more difficult scenes.

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