Review of The River Thief

(Contains spoilers) I was excited to have the opportunity to see N.D. Wilson's film, The River Thief, as I am an ardent reader of his books. Upon viewing the movie, I had mixed feelings regarding its success. While the actual cinematography was well-done, the scenery beautiful, and the utilization of color admirable, I admit the plot and dialogue fell a little flat for me. Several times I found myself confused as to what exactly was happening and why it was happening. Perhaps the foremost flaw was that of Marty's and Diz's deaths. I understand the common need to make characters die in movies, so as to add emotion and perhaps bring across a message, but in the case of The River Thief, the characters' deaths did not accomplish these things for me. It's very possible that other viewers of the film were wrenched by the passing of Marty and Diz, but I was not attached enough to either character for me to feel much. As for their deaths making a point or advancing the plot, I think that was almost an outcome of Marty's death and with a few changes could have resulted from his death, but in the case of Diz, the death seemed rather fruitless. One other bigger issue of the movie was the reality of Diz's attraction towards Selah. Though this was a major plot point, I simply didn't see the reasons behind his infatuation. On a positive note, though, the way he shyly and awkwardly flirted was very cute and also realistic (at least realistic for a guy with excess funds). I will end with two more positive points. First, Wilson did well using music to convey moods. I felt most strongly the intended emotions when music played. Second, I was greatly amused and excited by the presence of the Boxing Monkey patch on Diz's backpack-- nice nod to Ashtown Burials. Overall, future N.D Wilson movies could use some improvement as far as plot and characters go, but are in good shape aesthetically.