“The Girl in the River” arrives with a tagline that promises everything: “Every lie floats to the surface.” The film is a 92-minute crime thriller written and directed by Brando Benetton. It follows a seasoned criminologist and a young female psychologist lured to a remote Mississippi town to investigate the murder of a little girl and the disappearance of her twin sister.
Trailer, via Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Maggie Grace and Devon Sawa
The setup is clean. Maggie Grace plays Amelia Pembrock, a seasoned criminologist. Devon Sawa plays Alan Kramer. The two are lured to the town to investigate.
The cast is the most interesting thing here. Ralph Macchio plays Colin Ripley. Tiffany Haddish plays Captain Graysmith. Andrew Stevens is Arthur Otto. Three names you do not expect on one call sheet.
What the Town Gives Up
The supporting roster is long and thin:
- Brittany Seals as a funeral attendant
- Hopper Stone as a dentist, voice only
- Sarah Murphree as Julie Trembley
- Angelena Swords as Ilsa Otto
- Sam Brooks as Mike Bowers
- David Moncrief as Hank Brewster
- April Alsbury as library, restaurant and bar patron
That last credit stands out. One performer covers three unnamed roles.
| Element | What the film delivers |
|---|---|
| Runtime | 92 minutes |
| Genre | Crime, Thriller |
| Lead pairing | Criminologist and psychologist |
| Setting | Remote Mississippi town |
| Central case | Murder and a disappearance |
The Twin Sister Problem
A murdered girl and a missing twin is a strong hook. It gives you two mysteries that should feed each other. Benetton wrote and directed, so the failure to connect them is his alone.
Macchio and Haddish are the kind of casting that should carry a film. On paper, a crime thriller with those two in the supporting ranks reads like something bigger than 92 minutes.
Where the Lies Stay Buried
“The Girl in the River” has a title, a tagline and a premise. The twin hook is the one thing worth keeping. Everything around it — the lured investigators, the stacked cast, the voice-only dentist — reads like pieces assembled rather than a story told.
The tagline says every lie floats to the surface. The film mostly keeps them under.
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