TV REVIEWS : ‘Blue River’ Flows With Brothers’ Painful Memories

The grimy derelict who shows up on a well-to-do doctor’s doorstep is no stranger; he’s the doctor’s estranged older brother, bringing a lifetime of painful memories. So begins “Blue River,” a fitfully interesting movie on Fox tonight.

Based on Ethan Canin’s novel, most of the film is a journey into the past, exploring the escalating events that culminated in a series of arson fires and the suicide of a disturbed teen-ager, driving the two brothers apart.

Jerry O’Connell (of Fox’s “Sliders”) is the film’s strength, giving a truthful performance as troubled, volatile Lawrence, shaped by his father’s desertion of the family and his too-intense protective feelings toward his mother.

Nick Stahl’s emotional remove, while distancing, works for the younger “good” brother, Edward, who is scarred in a different way.

Directed by Larry Elikann and written by Maria Nation, this trip back in time intends to plumb psychological depths but remains in the shallows, encumbered with a pervasive, artificial air of portent and unintentional stereotypes. Most regrettable of these are the boys’ Bible-quoting, born-again divorced mother (Susan Dey) and the town’s hypocritical moral and spiritual leader (Sam Elliott).

And the conclusion is a bit too reminiscent of the sentiment in a “reach out” phone commercial to resonate.

“Blue River” is the first movie under Fox’s “Hallmark Entertainment Presents” banner, intended to feature “edgy stories of families in crisis.”

* “Blue River” airs at 8 tonight on Fox (Channel 11).