Jack Kerouac had immediate success and celebrity status after the release of his novel, On the Road. Jack had a self-destructive lifestyle that was taking wrecking his mind and his body. He is looking as himself now as a shadow of his former self because of abuse of alcohol and drugs. In 1960, three years after the publication of On the Road and at the age of forty, he left New York for Big Sur in California. He feels the isolation and beautiful landscape will be able to cleanse him. He will have a renewal of both mind and body. He does find the surrounding very healing but he begins having delirium, paranoia and madness with culminating in a breakdown. His experience results in a novel of the same name.
This
film relies too heavily on voiceover to convey what is going on instead of
relying on the actors to inhabit the story. There are beautiful scenes of the fog, redwoods, waves,
clouds and the sea but their grandness as portrayed pushes away instead of inviting
us in. The film does convey how
sudden success, alcohol and drug abuse can pull you into its web and destroy
everything you have plus push away those around you. I found this to be boring and droning with only moments that caught my attention and interest. It is better to watch this while reading a very interesting novel. 2* (I didn't like this movie)
81
min, Drama directed by Michael Polish with Jean-Marc Barr, Kate Bosworth, Josh
Lucas, Anthony Edwards, Balthazar Getty, Patrick Fischler, Stana Katic, Henry
Thomas, John Robinson, Radha Mitchell.
Note: Imdb 5.8 out of 10, 45% critic 39%
audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*.
Special
Note: I also didn't like the other film based on the novel On the Road. Kerouac lived only 10 years
after his period in Big Sur. He
died October 20, 1969 from an intense bleed from his esophagus due to damage
from alcohol and his liver was not able to clot the blood because of cirrhosis. He also had complications from an
untreated hernia received in a bar fight several weeks prior.
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