On the Road

In 2004, filmmaker Walter Salles brought to life the extraordinary travels of a young medical student named Ernesto Guevara in his stunning The Motorcycle Diaries. Flash forward eight years and Salles is doing the same again, taking the physical and philosophical journey of a young Jack Kerouac across North America and fashioning it for the screen in On The Road. An adaptation of Kerouac’s autobiographical novel, Salles could not have been a more perfect fit for the material, and the finished product is a stirring tale of a society changed forever; an amazingly crafted coming of age story which will no doubt remain as one of my favourite films of the year.


On the Road is the story of Sal Paradise (Sam Riley), a young man coping with the death of his father, a severe case of writer’s block and a burning desire to live with the mad and the crazy. He and his friend Carlos (Tom Sturridge) soon become intertwined with the life of a charming and beautiful ‘jailkid’ named Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund), who, along with his teenage wife Marylou ( Kristen Stewart), have made their way to New York. The troupe spend some months balancing the pressures of their banal days with the always eventful and often frantic nights on the town; Sal stands by in a haze of marijuana, Benzedrine, alcohol and sex, keeping a watchful eye over the others, always there but never becoming too involved. Yet these accomplices, especially Dean, will change his life forever. Soon the streets of New York become too familiar, and Carlos, Dean and Marylou leave Sal behind as they begin their journey to the west. His life without inspiration, Sal resolves to follow his friends, and so begins his journey on the road. 

An ode to a time not so long passed, On the Road is excellence on all levels. As one could only expect from Salles, the road becomes so much more than simply the setting of this story, and the way he builds this journey in a cinematic sense illuminates Sal’s journey well. The hedonistic lives of Kerouac’s characters become so brilliantly alluring thanks to Salles, plotting each character's step along the expedition faultlessly. Reuniting with cinematographer Eric Gautier, the film illustrates the American road as a path of ferocious delight. Aurally, the film sends you back to another world, and it’s incredible to note the impact this has on the way one experiences the film; once again, Gustavo Santaolalla can be hailed as enhancing the impact of Salles’ film, the same way he did it for Salles’ Diaries. Jose Rivera’s screenplay also provides a failproof map upon which these character’s lives meticulously wander in and out of each other’s way, and he adapts the source material superbly. 

And yet one would not be wrong in thinking this film is the perfect vehicle for a generation of careers to be built upon, and the casting here is particularly exceptional. Stewart is an absolute marvel; her Marylou is the quintessential runaway teen bride, and she portrays Marylou’s turbulent coming of age with considerable aplomb. Riley is a great choice for Sal, seamlessly underplaying the role and crafting a crystal clear eyepiece through which the audience can view the story of the Beat Generation in full brilliance. Hedlund is courageous in his candid portrayal of our young delinquent, lacing his performance with considerable allure. Kirsten Dunst and Sturridge are also effective in their somewhat smaller roles.


Though at times becoming slightly uneven and perhaps a tad long, On the Road is a tremendous cinematic achievement. Salles turns the character-driven novel into a visual spectacle, without ever compromising the journey (both externally and internally) of his characters. With mixed reviews at Cannes, one has to wonder whether the audience was exposed to the same whirlwind of psychedelic drugs that this story’s characters were, because, quite simply, the film is a marvel.