"On the Road" among the Notables films of 2011 : Part Ten

The Notables Films of 2011 : Part Ten

On the Road

Opens: 2011

Cast: Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, 

Viggo Mortensen, Amy Adams

Director: Walter Salles

Summary: Sal Paradise, a writer holed up in a

room at his aunt's house, gets inspired by Dean Moriarty to hit

the road and see America. From the moment he gets on 

the seven train out of New York City, he begins a

journey that exploresthe highs and lows of hitchhiking, bonding 

with fellow explorers and opting for beer before food.

Analysis: The term 'long gestating' film takes on a 

whole new meaning with this adaptation of what many 

consider the definitive novel of the Beat Generation. For 

over over five decades now there's been talk of a film 

adaptation of Jack Kerouac's autobiographical book about his time

spent traveling America in the 1940's with his friend Neal Cassady. 

Kerouac wanted to play his literary counterpart Sal himself

alongside Marlon Brando as the Cassady-inspired Dean back

in the late 50's when the book first came out.

"The Godfather" director Francis Ford Coppola tried 

several times to get an adaptation going, one time with Brad Pitt

and Ethan Hawke, but that fell through. Joel Schumacher 

tried a version with Billy Crudup and Colin Farrell, that didn't 

come together either. It wasn't until about six years ago that 

Coppola convinced Brazilian director Walter Salles ("The Motorcycle Diaries") 

to direct the film and production got underway at last. 

In preparation, Salles shot a documentary taking the same road trip

as Sal Paradise and speaking to other Beat poets who knew Kerouac.

Armed with a $25 million budget and much of the same 

crew who shot "The Motorcycle Diaries", filming got underway

in August in Montreal with the cast undergoing a month-long 

"beatnik boot camp" where they all learned about the Beat Generation.

Shooting also took place in New Orleans, San Francisco, Calgary, 

Arizona, Mexico and Argentina.

The casting has raised some eyebrows with Sam Riley 

("Control," "Brighton Rock") as Sal, 

Garrett Hedlund ("Tron: Legacy," "Troy") as Dean and

Kristen Stewart ("Twilight") as Mary Lou. The supporting roles

seem on slightly stronger footing with Viggo Mortensen and 

Tom Sturridge cast as the equivalents of William S. Burroughs 

and Allen Ginsberg respectively. Steve Buscemi, 

Terrence Howard, Amy Adams, and Kirsten Dunst also have key roles.

All the key cast have had plenty of time to get ready, 

Hedlund for example says he prepared for the role for essentially

three years. Shot throughout the last half of 2010, filming 

was done almost "guerrilla style" according to the actors with 

minimal crew members on hand to lend an almost documentary

feel to the proceedings. Reviews of the script have been raves and 

Salles will certainly bring his A-game to the material. The only 

question now is will this stand up to the scrutiny that comes when any

film is adapted from a beloved novel that's considered one of the 

defining works of a generation.

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