There have been many attempts to turn one of the greatest modern novels of the 20th century into a film. Finally, director Walter Salles has conquered the impossible task, sort of. It seems that no one can do Jack Kerouac's book justice on the big screen.
A Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival 2012, On the Road follows aspiring writer Sal Paradise (Sam Riley) whose entire life gets shaken and stirred after meeting Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund). Dean, a free-spirit to say the least, brought new perspective to Sal's life after the latter's father passed. The movie is literally what it sounds like. On a search for inspiration for his book, Sal travels cross country with mostly Dean, but a few times Marylou, Dean's girlfriend, (Kristen Stewart) will join them, along with whatever hitchhikers are on the way.
Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund. Source: TIFF
The three make up the main cast, travelling aimlessly with no real purpose. As nights turn into weeks and months, it seems as though Sal is no where closer to writing a book. Dean, meanwhile, now has a child with his wife Camille (Kirsten Dunst). That's right, his wife. Marylou is still in the picture though. You can just imagine the mess that is Dean's life.
At the end of this movie, Sal finally found his inspiration to write a book: his adventures with Dean. Now a successful and wealthy author, Sal meets Dean somewhere down the line in the future. Dean is still a mess, wandering through life without any real purpose, trying to convince Sal to engage in one last adventure together. Sal ultimately declines, leaving Dean with nothing. He's been kicked out of his wife's house, he has no money, and he's lost all of his friends. You start to feel bad for the guy, but then the movie ends.
A brilliantly made film, On the Road, sadly, was void of any content. Every city that they visited added a new sub plot to a main plot that had no substance to begin with. Each subplot ended just as soon as it started, leaving me confused and the slightest bit annoyed. Every time I thought the plot was going to pick up and start rolling, it was cut off because they've driven to a new city. It took much too long for the viewer to begin to develop a connection with the characters, which doesn't help this film's case either.
One thing that I will give this film is that I do feel like the time period was accurately depicted, particularly the lifestyle. Jazz music, dancing, drugs, sex, alcohol, cigarettes. These were the only consistent elements throughout the film. The cinematography also added to the allure that made me want to watch this movie in the first place. But even Hedlund's stand-out performance couldn't save this film from itself.
It's such a shame. The source material is critically acclaimed, but the words on the page just could not be translated into film. Going into it, I really wanted to like this movie. I truly did. But there really was nothing for me to like. Excellent direction and acting cannot make up for a lack of plot.
Rating: 5.5/10
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