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It takes several people to really understand what was going through his mind when he chose those roles written for him. He was one of the few actors who embodied the whole psyche of the character. He stayed in them like a caged bird moving around the whole place and hitting his face on the ground yet leaving us with some truly extraordinary moments on the silver screen. I guess we all have our share of stories of how each one of us gets drawn to a particular actor. There are times when we also have a film that he acts that has probably made an impact on our lives. But for me it was neither of the two. I just saw a single film of his it’s My own Private Idaho. I was not totally in love with this film but drew because of what River’s character does in the film. His growing admiration for Keanu Reeves is not hidden. He doesn’t understand what it is not to love a person. He is dejected soul who has walked path that he was forced to take. He has a condition where he sort of just passes out with huge stress. He doesn’t really understand his condition he doesn’t want sympathy. He is totally lost after he wakes up from some of his episodes and he is not sure what to make of all that is happening to him. The film comes to you in sparse flashbacks that bring a definite dimension to River’s character.

River has a way of even looking at objects and people around him. His character is grown out of a weird part of Gus Van Sant’s mind. He has so many different mannerisms giving each scene a totally different perspective. Both the actor and the director challenge each others sensibilities to the limit. There is a definite line of insanity that these two men try not to cross. But River keeps bordering around the area of insanity parking his car of thought out there. River is one of the few American actors who raised the issue of having intelligent and thought provoking gay love stories. He didn’t want to do another of those stupid gay comedy films or even those ambiguous gay films that just skirted the issue. His input into his films gave the directors a lot more to work with. The material they had started out with turns into something they had never imagined. This is mark of a fine actor who selflessly gives to many of his characters. There are several techniques that have been used by him in this single performance. He seems to work with the character in a more controlled and methodic manner but also using instinct to some measure. He also uses a much studied approach in giving his dialogs something I have seen with many black actors like Jamie Foxx and Denzel Washingston. There is also a lot of human condition written on his facial expressions akin to Johnny Depp. His approach to this character will give us a fair idea of all the magical senses he would add to his future characters. There were many people who were really influenced by his acting style. People were envious of his craft some examples were Ethan Hawke. He was overwhelmed with what River could do with his characters. Many others also followed there were remarks by Sean Penn who called him one of the greatest of his generation.

But the reason why I chose this one role of his is its significance to how he conducted his life. There were rumors he used take a lot of cocaine during the shoot of this film that might have been the cause for his eventual addiction and death at the tender age of 23. The other reason why this role was very famous was because of his win at Venice that he really cherished. I had already written about Venice being an extremely brave film festival and inducting River into their prestigious award is proof of what this festival can do for cinema. But the film had its share of detractors who wanted the film off the cinema for its very liberated themes. But this didn’t stop it from getting released. River played an active part in the promotion of this film and eventual release giving as much input to the whole production process. The film after years of its release got inducted into the prestigious Criterion Collection. Many critics not only praised River’s performance but also the work done in the direction department. My own Private Idaho had been praised by many critics for its sensitive portrayal by its leading pair. River whose bag was filled with roles that could have changed his career but was died a little too early before they could be finalized. Anne Rice who was a big fan of majority of his work wanted him instead of the popular Tom Cruise for the role in the hugely successful vampire movie Interview with the vampire. But in my view would have been lot different if it was River he would have infused a lot of magical realism into the role and would have been the perfect foil for Brad Pitt.

There was also another role that would have garnered him a lot more accolades. It was the small film Basketball diaries the role eventually went to Leonardo Di Caprio after River’s death. But looking at these examples that it is very clear that he is beyond all these seasoned performers who couldn’t live up to his immense talent. He had a natural way of making people size up to many of his roles. He had a way of making his characters feel a lot. There are many incidents in his illustrious career that I must have left out. But this spotlight is to bring to light on of his greatest peaks. Many actors got the chance to play more adventurous roles and experiment even more after the character he portrayed in this film. Actors like Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon Lewit owe a lot to River by making screenwriters write such roles like those in Brokeback Mountain and Mysterious Skin respectively. The courage he showed as an actor by pushing his roles to places where not many American actors wished to go has changed the way the cinema is being looked at. Thank you River for just being alive.