On the Road (2012)

Overrated and overhyped

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Young writer Sal Paradise has his life shaken by the arrival of free- spirited Dean Moriarty and his girl, Marylou. As they travel across the country, they encounter a mix of people who each impact their journey indelibly. This was a movie i was waiting a whole summer to see and when i saw it i was disappointed a lot of sex scenes, great actors playing stupid characters and it's sad cause my biggest problem with the whole film was Dean himself (Garrett Hedlund) he was a poor character and he even banged a guy to take his car i mean what the hell? Marylou was the only interesting character as for everyone else? mostly a miss and not a hit.

1) The screenwriter did not understand the main characters of the book, especially Dean. He added poor quality dialogue. That dialogue was related to sexuality. At certain points in the film Dean described sex acts that he engaged in that were never mentioned in the book. He described them in a way that would have never come out of the character's mouth as Kerouac created him. This poor quality language destroyed the depth of the character within 60 or so seconds. The screenwriter put 90% of the focus on sex, and made a gay sex act happen, which never occurred in the book, apparently to get some gay sex on screen. He had Marylou give Dean and Sal hand jobs at the same time in the movie which never occurred in the book. The screenwriter took the shift off the very important things that "On the Road," is about. On the road is about America in the 1940's being a spiritual land of immense beauty and power. It is about how Sal, and even more so Dean were completely intoxicated by this spirituality and beauty. The story is about "it." One aspect of "it," was that Dean loved women very deeply and was crazy about them. The other aspect was to be intoxicated by every unusual character that Dean came across on the road. In the story Dean is wild, intoxicated on life, and grooving on the world including the people, the music, and his friend Sal all the time. This brings me to my second point.2) The actor that played Dean was not able to catch this constant intense spiritual jazzy American fever at all. Therefore nothing was accomplished.3) The book is really about this holy land of America. Sometimes there is an amazing tune that a songwriter needs to put words to, just so that the tune can get noticed. But the words are actually secondary. In a way Dean and Sal are almost secondary. They are a vehicle for traveling through every aspect of the mystical American landscape, its people, and its culture. The movie does not convey this most important aspect of "On the Road," effectively. To do so much more focus would have had to be put on people and places that Dean and Sal observe as they travel.To conclude, once again, "On the Road," is about American spirituality. A kind of spirituality that miraculously could have occasionally been found by the wild and free youth of the time. The film failed to capture this, possibly because the screen writer did not understand what this American spirituality is. He did not understand the essence of "On the Road."

Apparently it was a difficult screenplay to write, which didn't surprise me. I read the book decades ago and it had a profound affect on me as I was about the age of the characters. I had hoped a movie could be made of it, and alas, decades later one was and it was available on my TV. For me, it was a near perfect a re-creation from the book as one might hope for. The actors & actresses were excellent. That said, reading the book is important in order to follow the chaos that ensues "On the Road". It does leave out too much of the "Beat" generation background that provides the personal motivation for a lifestyle of its characters. Youth running away from a lifestyle that had become so entrenched around family, friends and community, some youth rebelled and looked for their own idea of utopia. Yet, it seemed, only Dean Moriarty had attempted, among all the male characters, to have some semblance of family life as he tried to balance the "old way" and the chains that bind, with a desire to live irresponsibly but totally free. A wild and exciting adventure that is tempered by the lesson, for the reader, at the end.

A massively underrated film.I read On The Road a few years back, as a high school student, it had a profound effect on me, and it remains my favourite book. In my experience, films don't usually live up to the books, not entirely.But boy, was I wrong about this one. On The Road is a cinematic masterpiece, in every way. A piece of art.Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart weren't the actors I pictured playing any of the roles, but they were amazing, and captured the captured the soul of the characters and the spirit of the story perfectly. We meet Dean, the free-spirit, insane, but in the best way. Never thinking about the consequences in any decision. Open to everything. Marylou, a brave, free and intelligent young woman, who embraces Deans insanity, but somewhat longs for normality, sanity. and Sal, the middle man, the 'tag along'. A mash-up of the above descriptions. Creative, intelligent, sane...but longs for freedom and insanity, seeking it through others, rather than himself. ...and a whole range of diverse, vibrant characters that make the film.The film is in no way 'subtle', but neither is the book, the 'Sex, Drugs and...Jazz' concept is evident, well enforced and the epitome of this era, and the search for freedom is hammered home throughout. The beliefs and values in the story have been kept, and Jack Kerouac's manic thought process, writing, creativity and story telling technique, saved. Nothing was held back. A brave performance by all.You're taken on a journey in this film, everyone can relate to the characters, mainly due to the incredible acting in which the characters are fully fleshed out, they have soul. This is a film to be felt. You'll feel what the characters feel, you'll empathise, and you'll long for the freedom they have. The film had a tremendous impact on me, as a teenager myself, maybe even more so than others. Its one of the few films that enables us to think throughout, rather than spoon-fed, and we're truly left thinking about it, it sticks. You're taken 'On The Road' with Dean, Sal and Marylou, you can sit all day, googling, looking at the worlds most incredible places, places you want to go someday, people that inspire you, people that are 'free', but one thing I took from the film is what those characters feel throughout, the experiences they have and that shape them, those that can't be truly grasped without truly doing it yourself. Maybe something that has been lost slightly in our generation.Without a doubt one of the best films I've ever seen. Absolutely flawless. Underrated just doesn't cut it. Don't let any of the reviews put you off seeing this film.I repeat, On The Road is a cinematic masterpiece, in every way. A piece of art.