Take me to the river by matt sobel logan miller, robin. While take me to the river goes on a wildly different course than what happened to sobel in reality, based on a mortifying nightmare he had about being wrongly accused of a transgression in front of his entire family, those same short shorts can be seen in the film as well as the writerdirectors penchant for provocation. Although he wanted to be a director since making short spielberginspired films as a kid growing up in san jose, california, sobel enrolled not in film but in the fine arts program at the. A californian teenagers plan to come out at his nebraskan family. Nov 08, 2015 discussion with writerdirector matt sobel and moderator joe fab november 8, 2015 1. Take me to the river is a 2015 american drama film directed by matt sobel and starring logan miller, richard schiff, and robin weigert.
The film marks matt sobels directorial debut and centers on ryder. Sobel s buttonpushing mindfuck about adolescent sexuality and family secrets is a tenacious and taut drama that veers between. Matt sobel on the delicate balance of take me to the. Josh hamilton talks sundance gem take me to the river tribeca. Its notable that a drive from milan to madrid is shorter by 500 miles. For the most part, take me to the rivers lurch into melodrama marks a. Jul 08, 2015 new yorkbased indie distributor film movement has acquired all north american rights to sundance drama take me to the river. Jan 23, 2015 matt sobels remarkably assured debut take to me to the river centers on ryder relative newcomer logan miller, a sensitive teenager from california who attends a family reunion in nebraska with his mother robin weigert and father richard schiff. Take me to the river mary riepma ross media arts center. Sobels film skates past any persuasive sense of motivation. In its opening minutes, writerdirector matt sobel s debut feature looks to be a wellmade variation on a fairly common type of indie.
Apr 01, 2016 matt sobels gayinthemidlands drama is at turns riveting and deathly boring. Yet another dysfunctional family drama indie film, writerdirector matt sobel s take me to the river has its flaws. A strange incident takes place that involves ryder and his young niece, and ryder is put at. Matt sobel set to direct the scorpio races at focus features. Matt sobel, who helmed the sundance 2015 drama take me to the river, has been set by focus features to direct the scorpio races. With logan miller, robin weigert, josh hamilton, richard schiff. Take me to the river immerses a teenager in scandal at a. Matt sobel has been an active screenwriter and filmmaker for the past twelve years. San jose native matt sobel earns raves for take me to the. Mar 31, 2016 in take me to the river, firsttime director and writer matt sobel shows great promise, even if his feature debut doesnt quite live up to the promise of its sinister premise in this. When it debuted at the 2015 sundance film festival, matt sobel s debut feature take me to the river provoked what one writer described as a polarizing reaction among critics.
The film was disturbing, the acting was subpar, and a lot of what happened just didnt. Mar 18, 2016 when it debuted at the 2015 sundance film festival, matt sobels debut feature take me to the river provoked what one writer described as a polarizing reaction among critics. In matt sobels take me to the river, a gay california teenager. Apr 10, 2016 firsttime writerdirector matt sobel tells a story that is driven by suspicion, innuendo, sexual tension, and buried secrets. Writerdirector matt sobel s quietly engaging debut is one of the great discoveries of the 2015 sundance film festival. His fishoutofwater observations have a personal edge the film is shot partly on his own extended familys nebraskan property but it soon builds to a place of nightmarish psychosexual revelations. Nightmare about a family reunion inspires filmmakers. We caught up with sobel at the london film festival to dig.
We caught up with sobel at the london film festival to dig into the origins of his inverted coming of age. Mar 30, 2016 rural nebraska is the setting of matt sobel s semiautobiographical, mostly imagined feature film debut take me to the river. Matt sobels debut feature take me to the river 2015. Jul 08, 2015 film movement has acquired north american rights to take me to the river, the debut feature of matt sobel that premiered at this years sundance film festival. Matt sobel s debut take me to the river is one such find, a film with a passionate understatement that might have made it naturally stand out less than some of the higherprofile festival favorites but remains a personal highlight in my own festivalgoing experience, only growing in estimation more impressively the more i reflect on it. The film marks matt sobel s directorial debut and centers on. A californian teenagers plan to come out at his nebraskan family reunion gets derailed when a bloodstain on his young cousins dress makes him the unwitting suspect of abuse. In one scene after another, he builds the tension, adds an extra level of complexity, and then leaves you adrift with unanswered questions. It will play at the ross media arts center in lincoln may 2026.
A gay teen named ryder logan miller, heads to a family reunion in nebraska with his worried. She didnt live to see the film, but her spirit pervaded the shoot. Wme has signed matt sobel, writerdirectorproducer of take me to the river, which debuted at sundance. Matt sobel on the delicate balance of take me to the river. Logan miller plays ryder, a california teen who reluctantly tags along with his mother cindy robin weigert and father don richard schiff to a family reunion in nebraska. Mar 18, 2016 writerdirector matt sobels quietly engaging debut is one of the great discoveries of the 2015 sundance film festival. He graduated from uclas department of art and currently lives in.
San jose native matt sobel used one of his as inspirational fuel for a movie. A gay teen, molestation, funny sunglasses this debut from matt sobel ticks. About as far removed from an easy, passive watching experience as you can get, matt sobel s debut feature take me to the river is an experience as compelling as it uncomfortable, which speaks to sobel s ability to draw an audience in as cocreators of the events unfolding on screen. Take me to the river works best in scenes like the one where logan gets goaded by his uncle and aunt into singing the homoerotic song that he did for a school talent show back westwhile hes sitting in a midwestern breakfast nook and drinking generic storebrand cola out of a plastic tumbler. California teen ryder plans to come out to his extended family at their nebraska reunion, but. It is quite the arresting debut from sobel, who graduated from ucla with a fine arts degree and instills every frame of the film with both a sense of. Matt sobels film take me to the river to open in theaters. Dec 21, 2016 american independent filmmaker matt sobel who has made his featurefilm debut with take me to the river 2015 said in an interview that the story for his film came from a nightmare. Matt sobels assured directorial debut is the story of ryder, an artsy, confident california teen who is heading to nebraska for a family reunion. Fact is this is a well made film that caused me more anxiety than any film i have seen in years. Writerdirector matt sobel and actors logan miller and robin weigert talk about take me to the river.
A striking debut feature for sobel, take me to the river was a sundance film festival hit last year, earning him praise as one of todays best emerging indie filmmakers. As a native nebraskan, i can speak to the accuracy of the closed mindedness on display in matt sobels gayinthe. It was developed at binger filmlab s writing and directing labs in 2012 and ifps narrative filmmaker lab in 2014. Firsttime filmmaker matt sobel delivers a mysterious, tense comingofage story with take me to the river, a selection of the next program in this years sundance film festival. While extremely impressive in its mounting, the drama ventures into some tricky emotional territory that may induce queasiness in some viewers, or headscratching for others. Thats 1,500 miles from the willow glen suburb he grew up in.
The film epitomizes the festivals mission of discovering new talent. Sundance drama take me to the river acquired by film. In sobel s film, that kind of geographical distance informs the cultural differences between his hometown in california and the. Never sensationalist or melodramatic, take me to the river the title always gets me thinking about the singing from fish in that fever dream episode of the sopranos feels like a timebomb that doesnt explode but gradually seeps out.
Ronnie scheib of variety says this is writerdirector matt sobels, first full length film. The film, woven together by an omnipresent sense of dread, is the masterful debut from writerdirector matt sobel. That rings true when we immerse ourselves within the narratives setting. Follow the film on facebook matt sobel has been an active screenwriter and filmmaker for the past twelve years. Firsttime feature writerdirector matt sobel set out to create a film that allowed its viewers to become active participants in the story process and hes succeeded. New yorkbased indie distributor film movement has acquired all north american rights to sundance drama take me to the river. But on the whole, this is an impressive feature debut. Take me to the river focused on a single event and just didnt let go, everything else became irrelevant.
In its opening minutes, writerdirector matt sobels debut feature looks to be a. Matt sobel s first feature film, take me to the river, was shot in summer 20 near rockville. A naive california teen plans to remain above the fray at his nebraskan family reunion, but a strange encounter places him at the center of a longburied family secret. Take me to the river had its east coast premiere in competition at hiff 2015. There are scenes in it that will stay in my mind for far longer than. The farm in the film is my familys actual farm in nebraska, and i grew up going to that family reunion, although it was never quite that. Matt sobel s extraordinary debut feature boasts a powerful ensemble cast and finds the tension in what relatives dont talk about. But despite its sharp visuals and evocative sense of. Exactly the kind of false accusation witch hunt movie. Take me to the river is the feature film debut of writerdirector matt sobel. Ronnie scheib of variety says this is writerdirector matt sobel s, first full length film. Dark family secrets lurk in take me to the river with take me to the river, director matt sobel delivers not only an atypical take on the comingofage story, but one of the most original movies to have premiered at the 2015 sundance film festival.
Sobels frame resonate the visceral sensation of getting trapped inside a. Currently in postproduction, matt sobel s impressive debut feature, take me to the river, is poised to make waves on the festival circuit and beyond in 2015, but its had a circuitous path to the screen. Writerdirector matt sobel s debut feature also stirs interest by taking some audacious risks in its depiction of precocious preteen sexuality. Matt sobel studio film movement purchase rights stream instantly details format prime video streaming online video devices.
Mar 17, 2016 making his debut featurelength effort with take me to the river, matt sobel borrows a page from the uncomfortable school of filmmaking, but colors it with his own peculiar, but distinct. Mar 07, 2016 matt sobels feature length film titled take me to the river. A curious mystery shakes up a family reunion in take me to. Take me to the river, sobel s fulllength directorial debut, tells the story of a gay california teen logan.
His first feature take me to the river premiered at the sundance film festival in 2015. There are a few moments of overt cultureclash in the movies second. Sobel s assured directorial debut is the story of ryder, an artsy, confident california teen who is heading to nebraska for a family reunion. Take me to the river unfolds in an atmosphere of mystery and dread that contrasts with its surroundings bucolic serenity. After planning to come out to his conservative relatives, he holds off at his mothers request but nevertheless makes a showy entrance at the cookout with his short shorts and his eyecatching shades.
When it debuted at the 2015 sundance film festival, matt sobels debut feature take me to the river provoked what one writer described as. Sundance pic take me to the river lands at film movement. Take me to the river 2015 1h 24min drama 26 january 2015 usa storyline. Sobels buttonpushing mindfuck about adolescent sexuality and family secrets is a. The film is very well made and acted with care and subtlety, and the narrative didnt go where i was expecting. Sobel had considered several other locations other than nebraska, where the story is set, but it soon became clear to him that only her farm could capture the essence of what the story he. Rural nebraska is the setting of matt sobel s semiautobiographical, mostly imagined feature film debut take me to the river. Take me to the river is nothing if not ambiguous in a way that forces us to give meaning to unanswered questions and oddly truncated scenarios. Firsttime writerdirector matt sobels take me to the river unfolds in an atmosphere of mystery and dread that contrasts with its surroundings bucolic serenity. A gay californian teenagers visit to nebraskan relatives turns more nightmarish than he anticipated. Openings will be in late march to may 2016 and a continually updated list of locations, dates, as well as a synopsis and trailer can be found at film movement.
Matt sobels extraordinary debut feature boasts a powerful ensemble cast and finds the tension in what relatives dont talk about. Matt sobel dedicated his feature film debut, take me to the river, to his grandmother. Matt sobel s assured directorial debut is the story of ryder, an artsy, confident california teen who is heading to nebraska for a family reunion. Making his debut featurelength effort with take me to the river, matt sobel borrows a page from the uncomfortable school of filmmaking, but colors it with his own peculiar, but distinct. About as far removed from an easy, passive watching experience as you can get, matt sobels debut feature take me to the river is an experience as compelling as it uncomfortable, which speaks to sobels ability to draw an audience in as cocreators of the events unfolding on screen. A gay californian teenagers visit to nebraskan relatives turns more nightmarish than he anticipated, for reasons that he never could have imagined. This marks the third signing the agency made of filmmakers who made a splash at pa. Take me to the river by matt sobel official trailer drama hd. Firsttime writerdirector matt sobel s take me to the river unfolds in an atmosphere of mystery and dread that contrasts with its surroundings bucolic serenity. A curious mystery shakes up a family reunion in take me to the river. Matt sobel on harnessing the rising tide of take me to the river. Currently in postproduction, matt sobels impressive debut feature, take me to the river, is poised to make waves on the festival circuit and beyond in 2015, but its had a circuitous path to the screen.
1254 620 224 1251 1141 302 1348 746 1218 1244 420 1035 1478 879 701 1112 971 261 1553 495 569 1113 842 73 1168 523 502 38 333 1264 1165 80 1139 1196 700 801