have in fact only seen one film with River Phoenix, Stand By Me. I saw it at home on TV, on a commercial-free channel, and I was absolutely engrossed. Particularly by River Phoenix' character, Chris. He shone indeed. Chris was a boy who seemed to be doomed by destiny to grow up bad and criminal because of his criminal family, but who had decided, nevertheless, to cheat fate and grow up a good and useful person. The way young River Phoenix portrayed this character, who seemed so full of a sad and painful wisdom beyond his years, but also so full of determination and hope and kindness, and who, on top of all this, was just a young adventurous thirteen-year-old... wow...it was fantastic.
I absolutely agree. Another of my favourite movies , one that is simply magical and RP's performance resonates from the screen. The scene in which he painfully describes the betrayal by his teacher shows an astonishing maturity of talent in such a young actor.
LabRat
