Director
Robert Redford
Leading Actors/Actresses
Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Tom Skerritt, Brenda Blethyn, Emily Lloyd
Genre
Drama
Language
English
Awards
Won 1 Oscar: Best Cinematography
Date of Release
1992
Producer
Patrick Markey, Amalia Mato, Robert Redford
Setting and Context
Missoula, Montana - World War I to Great Depression and Prohibition Eras
Narrator and Point of View
Norman is the narrator and the film is seen from his POV
Tone and Mood
Dramatic, Serious
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Norman. Antagonists are the men Paul owes money to.
Major Conflict
Norman returns home to Montana to find that his brother, Paul, is in debt to bad men.
Climax
Paul is beaten to death in an alley after a final fishing trip with his Norman and his father. Norman marries Jessie and takes a job at the University of Chicago and his parents remain in Missoula where they eventually die. And, Norman is seen alone as an old man years later fly fishing by himself as all those he loved have passed away.
Foreshadowing
Paul brushing off his debt as not a big deal and not asking for help foreshadows that it will eventually catch up to him in a horrible way.
Understatement
It is understated that Paul will be killed.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
N/A
Allusions
The film is an allusion to the reality of the experiences of our lives freshly running through our hearts and minds day after day, and the effect they have on us.
Paradox
Paul owes a great deal of money to the wrong people. Paradoxically, he doesn't ask his family for help to get out of debt. He tries to do it on his own.
Parallelism
Norman fly fishing as an old man at the end of the film parallels him and his brother and father fishing multiple times throughout the film. It is their place of peace, which has become a place that haunts Norman.
