SummaryA poker-playing pool hustler takes her last shot at redemption by trying to score enough money to run away with the son she was forced to abandon at birth. [Screen Media Films]
Directed By:Chris Eigeman
Written By:Chris Eigeman
Turn the River
Metascore
Mixed or Average
55
User score
Mixed or Average
5.5
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
55
40% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
50% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
10% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
70
Turn the River can't weather the ante-upping into pathos when Kailey desperately reasserts her privilege of motherhood--but the sense of storytelling intelligence is undeniable.
70
Has a mixture of edginess and melancholy that's beautifully sustained until the climax, when the tang of realism becomes the cudgel of melodrama.
67
Turn the River becomes a standard fatalistic misfits-on-the-run movie with more than its share of improbabilities. It's as if Eigeman didn't realize how good the best parts of his film were, and so went ahead and trashed them.
60
Until it transforms into an improbable thriller, Turn the River is a finely observed portrait of a desperate working-class woman who refuses to play by ordinary rules.
60
Skip the coda to this movie, with its tiny upswing of hope, and remember the days at the tables, as dim and endless as nights, and the click of the dialogue.
40
It's not sharp or ironic, but drab and downbeat. Unfortunately, it's also going to feel utterly familiar to those who've seen their share of independent dramas in the last 15 years.
38
Turn the River lacks almost everything Eigeman has as a performer: charisma, wit and snappy delivery.
User score
Mixed or Average
5.5
50% Positive
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
25% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
25% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Feb 22, 2013
3
Turn The River is a stupid story, that is poorly directed, and just plain boring. Kailey is a professional gambler who not only lost custody of her son when she got divorced, but also lost the right to even see him. She is convinced that he ex-husband is abusing her twelve year old son, the way he abused her, and she's determined to do the only thing she can about. Kailey goes on a quest to win as much money as she can, so she can get her son and take him away to a better place. First of all, we have no idea why Kailey can't see her son and we so no evidence of abuse by her ex-husband. Gambling, also infers random games of chance, but not with Kailey, honestly it's just ridiculous. The film stars X-men beauty Famke Janssen, who is quite good looking, but unfortunately very dry as an actress. Her son, Law Orders Jamyie Dornan, is a bit more entertaining, but the role is so badly written, that no one could have made it work. A lot of things are alleged and assumed in this movie, but we aren't shown any of it. It's impossible to separate fact from bull in this incredibly slow dud of a movie. The script is terrible, the acting is bland, and the direction is sloppy. If you suffer from chronic insomnia, try watching this!
Production Company:
- Bandora
- Mr. Nice
Release Date:May 9, 2008
Duration:1 h 32 m
Rating:R
Tagline:Sometimes Your Last Shot is Your First Break
Website:
Awards
Hamptons International Film Festival
• 3 Wins & 3 Nominations
Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 1 Nomination
