Walter Salles has made another beautiful, captivating, moving film. 'On The Road' is a close adaptation of Kerouac's famous novel which came to define the beat movement. Sticking to the fictional character names of Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise (this feels historically faithful as these are the names used in the book up until a recent re-edition of the original text) we follow Sal's attempts to find 'it' in his travels across America, and through his relationships, and his attempts to write a meaningful work of art. Sam Riley is brilliant in the central role; natural, sympathetic, captivating. All the other actors are excellent. What is the real strength of this film is the unpretentious film-making which resists drawing attention to the wealth of talent involved in making it, is it perhaps the perfection of this film which has tempted reviewers to pick holes or invent flaws, like a true beauty it is sometimes hard for others to resist trying to destroy or defile it? Cinema magic is rare, shame people have trouble recognizing it when they have it in front of them.
Review of On the Road
