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| DELIVERANCE (2003) | |
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The spreading civilization is about to conquer another part of the uncivilized world, which is located in the Appalachian part of Georgia.
This conquest of nature will be a dam that a power company is planning in order to provide more electricity for the southeast United States.
The dam will drown the earth surrounding a small river, which supposedly has beautiful scenery and amazing wildlife.
Four men from Atlanta plan a canoe trip along the small river before the civilization makes it's cruel mark on the environment by submerging it in water. The self-proclaimed leader of the group of four is Lewis Medlock (Burt Reynolds) who seeks nature and it's challenges. Lewis has dragged three men into the wilderness, a couple of hours away from Atlanta, Ga, where he intends to provide an experience with mother earth that they will never forget. The awareness of the forthcoming destruction of the wilderness was Lewis' reason for making a sacred canoe pilgrimage before the land and river have been submerged in an artificial lake. When the four men arrive to the starting point of their canoe trip they encounter a group of hillbillies. One of the locals, a boy, is immensely skilled with a banjo, which sets off one of the landmark scenes in the history of cinema. In the banjo scene, Drew Ballinger (Ronny Cox) is out-played by a local boy. This musical duel sets the tone for what nature is like as the four men are amazed over the boy's musical skills. The men eventually commence their journey down the river which brings them through whitewater and an amazing wilderness full of life. During the expedition the insurance agent, Bobby Trippe (Ned Beatty), appears to annoy Lewis as he reminds him about everything that one can find in the civilized portion of society. When the group has encountered and successfully canoed through rough whitewater Bobby asks, "We beat it, didn't we." as if it was a football game. This seems to fuel Lewis' aggravation in regards to Bobby as he appears to be unfeeling to what surrounds them. The wilderness merely exists around them as they drink beer and discuss existential purposes in life as Ed Gentry (Jon Voight) displays his gratitude to Lewis for the idea of the trip. Ed's appreciation triggers a questions that Lewis asks his friend, why did he come on the trip if he was completely content with his safe and comfortable life in Atlanta. This question is an important part of the film as it discloses an interesting notion of why people leave the comfort zone of suburbia as they venture into the wilderness where danger looms. The river becomes the line between civilization and wilderness as the four men venture down streams where unspeakable horror eventually emerges. The four men kill one of the locals after he has ravished Bobby and come close to killing Ed. The killing brings the four men into a moral debate where the concept nature versus nurture is brought to light as they discuss whether they should inform law enforcement or hide the corpse. This presents the audience with an ambiguously interesting notion as Drew insists on following learned civilized morals while Lewis brings forth a more Darwinistic attitude as survival seems more important. Deliverance depicts gruesome violence brought upon the characters in the film where they need to find a way to survive as they intrinsically struggle with learned values of what is right and wrong. These values do not exist in nature where there is only one way to survive, as the strongest will live and the weak will perish. This might seem cruel and ruthless, but then the audience should ponder civilizations ruthless methods used to conquer nature. In the backdrop of Darwinism and civilization building, John Boorman brings the audience a film that will not be forgotten as it offers suspense, horror, and many morals to contemplate. The film is also supported by a well-performing cast and scenes of a beautiful environment that enhance the visual experience as it almost recreates a feeling of being present on location. |
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DIRECTED BY |
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| John Boorman | |
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USA |
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| REVIEWED | |
| 1/3/2005 | |
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The Internet Movie Database. |
