A grim, tension-filled drama, River of Grass exudes atmosphere from filmmaker Derek Magyar, leaves you gripped. You are never allowed to get comfortable as we venture down this nightmare for the traumatised Larry. Enthralling from beginning to end.
Upon returning from the Vietnam War, troubled young soldier Larry (Dylan McTee) seeks a fresh start with his family, who want him to venture into the family business. This causes him to have a head-on collision with his resentful brother Robert (Victor Webster), who wants to ensure he is head of the family table.
First-born children will always have a bit of resentment towards their younger siblings. Often, they will go through life completely differently. In Robert’s case, he was made to toil away for years trying to keep the family business afloat to get an ounce of love and affection from his father. While his younger brother Larry got coddled, he didn’t have to break his back to help the family and instead served the military for several years.
The resentment that brews in Robert is a complex emotion that is directed at the wrong person. This complexity ensures that a tangled relationship will always exist, with the fear of the ‘golden child’ surpassing you, despite all your sacrifices for the family, being emotionally overwhelming for Robert. Magyar, along with co-writers Jon Bloch and Chad Christopher, have penned a compelling, grim narrative in River of Grass. They skillfully navigate through multiple themes to present a dark and incredibly intriguing film.
The theme of a one-sided sibling rivalry runs through the film like a hot knife; the dynamics created have you feeling as uncomfortable as the rest of the family members at the dinner table. You want to look away but can’t because, like any car crash family drama, you just cannot look away. The writing team also wisely pulled in Larry’s obvious PTSD from his time serving in the military. Sure, he has the cautious and quiet approach of someone who has seen far more than they ever should. Still, by the film’s end, we realise he is hiding something deep within himself from his family about what happened when on one of the tours.
It’s a welcome and natural element that makes River of Grass work as well as it does. You buy the conflict within Robert in wanting to show Larry he is the boss and that what he is doing is real and visceral. While Larry just wants to put his head down and lead an easy life and try to forget everything he has experienced, except Robert’s version of the family business is just as violent as the world he just left. The two excellent performances from Dylan McTee and Victor Webster are anchoring these ideas, with Webster commanding the screen with his continually boiling anger. McTee plays it purposely subdued, so when his blast of anger occurs, it rocks and chills you in equal measure, breaking you as he looks around the dark sky as hopeless and lost as a person can be.
Adding an extra dimension to River of Grass is the downright horrible Joshua, played terrifically by Darren Darnborough, who only piles on the hate and fury towards Larry, prodding and testing him. Magyar does not give us a moment to breathe throughout his short film, with us only finding our breath once Larry leaves Joshua’s house. But by then, we are so defeated at knowing the consequences of his actions that you can’t relax.
A larger story is being held within River of Grass, and if this proves to be more than the eventual excellent short film it is, it will be one you will also have to catch.
★★★★
For more of our coverage of the HollyShorts Film Festival, please check out our reviews below.
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