#12: Wade

“I just love the outdoors!”

Not many remember “The River Wild,” a low-key thriller from the 90s, despite the fact it stars the always-dynamite Meryl Streep (what’s she doing in a movie like this!).  That’s unfortunate.

It’s a pretty straightforward suspense film about a family in peril and features some familiar genre tropes — but man, it is tense!  The main reason:  its villain, Wade, played by an understated Kevin Bacon, who’s playing strangely against type here.

Wade and his companion play a pair of bandits on the run, trying to make it to safety in Canada.  How do they plan to accomplish it when police roadblocks are at every checkpoint?  Canoe up a river to make it through undetected.

Of course, they aren’t your run-of-the-mill baddie duo with brains, brawn, and a lack of empathy.  No, they have ambition but not quite the wits to match it.  Note how, as the movie progresses and things go wrong for them, they seem as lost and insecure as our heroes.  Wade in particular does the best he can of trying to maintain order in a situation spiraling out of control.  He holds his head high and puffs out his chest to keep up appearances.  But he’s weak.  He has limitations, and the amazing thing is to watch him try to downplay them against Steep’s powerfully confident hero.  The dynamic between the two is electric and provides many sparks of originality in an otherwise ordinary story.