524. On The Road

I have to confess I was tired when I watched On The Road.
I had darted over to Derby Quad after work, sat through a tortuous hour of the red carpet before the disappointing Rolling Stones' movie and was then faced with a dilemma.
In the words of the song: "Should I stay or should I go?''
I had worked out that On The Road might be bit heavy and long and by the end of it I would have been five and a half hours in the cinema.
But then I thought of interviews I had heard with Olympic athletes - their combined message that nobody achieves anything without pain.
Thus, with the everyfilm challenge still just about doable, I stayed.
I relate all of this because, while I saw considerable merit in Walter Salles' movie, I am sure I would have enjoyed it even more if I had been fresh.
I've not had the benefit of reading Jack Kerouac's much celebrated novel but I imagined it to be quite dense.
If so, Salles does a good job of making this long-awaited film accessible.
This is helped by a cast at the top of their form. Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund give a great depth to Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty - taking them to the peaks and troughs with equal conviction.
Meanwhile, Kristen Stewart proves that outside of the Twilight Trilogy she can act (see The Runaways, Welcome To the Rileys and you will know what I mean).
Meanwhile, there is an exceptional list of cameo performances from Amy Adams (I didn't even recognise her), Steve Buscemi, Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen and Terrence Howard.
So what's the film about? A writer (Riley) makes friends with a bunch of Bohemians in New York.
The leader of the pack (Hedlund) is a feckless sexaholic who is married to a teenager (Stewart) but gives himself readily to anyone else who comes into his path (guys or gals).
The group struggles with putting down roots so trails across America, meeting a myriad of oddballs along the way.
As they go, the relationships ebb and flow, with the group either in love with each other or reduced to mutual-loathing.
The arguments and the making up are the bedrock of the film, as well as the stunning cinematography.
The problem, however, if that On The Road drags on and being as tired as I was I could have done with it being a good half an hour shorter.
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: out of shot
Nudity: yes
Overall rating: 7/10