5. River Phoenix – Stand By Me
Films almost wholly populated by children can be tricky. Often, film-makers will include a couple of old hands to bring a bit of experience and gravitas alongside the plucky energy of youth. Sometimes, a film maker shows the courage to just go with a young cast and lets them carry the film on their shoulders. And sometimes that courage pays off in spades.
Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me is an absolute masterpiece by any criteria you might pick and River Phoenix’s performance within it is towering. As a group of four friends set off through the woods to find a dead body, they enjoy private jokes, poke fun at each other, stick up for and comfort each other, share their respective fears, hopes and struggles and generally have a life-defining time.
Phoenix was already a well-established actor by the time he made Stand By Me and he manages to stand out from the crowd here, without overshadowing the rest of the cast or over-balancing the film – his performance nestles in the film perfectly, his natural yet slightly more mature performance suiting the role and the film to a tee. His breakdown when opening up to Will Wheaton’s character is heart-rending and the added poignancy of Phoenix himself having now passed away before his time, just like his character did leaves a lump in the throat. Phoenix would go on to add further excellent work to his CV, but arguably none of the rest of the young cast have come close to this level of performance since.
