Many citizens of the USA have a
romantic fixation concerning the landscape of this vast nation, its variety,
and the cultural differences of regions, such as the East, West, North, South
and the Middle, all imbued with their own character, beauty, and mystique. The
classic novel by Jack Kerouac, On the
Road, touches into all of these, as well as depicting a rich assortment of
human characters.
Like many readers and writers, I
have waited a long time for On the Road
to come to the screen. One major challenge to such a visual adaptation is that
Kerouac’s beautiful, quirky and inspired prose in the novel is not easy to translate
visually. There is a kind of poetry and heart to his best writing that must be heard
and felt, as much as seen. Still, the film offers exquisite cinematography, and
fine performances by the entire cast. Though I appreciate the choice to use
Kerouac’s fictional character names, this may confuse some viewers unless they
research on Wikipedia.
As with the novel, the major focus
is what we now call a classic “bromance” between the narrator (the character
Kerouac based on himself) and his good friend and inspiration based on that famous
wild man Neal Cassady. There are several layers of romantic fixation going on
here, for Kerouac crafted most of his works by recording his own life and
friendships through a kind of romanticized filter. His novels ended up as
accounts of how he wanted to see things, and often quite different from how
others viewed events.
This beautiful film mostly honors
Kerouac’s version of things, though there are touches of biography added that
are not so flattering, such as the wonderful performance of Kirsten Dunst, as
the woman who married Cassady’s character. Though her role is relatively small,
she achieves special luminosity and poignance. Also exceptional are Garrett
Hedlund as the Cassady character, who brilliantly convinces with his rakish charm.
The unexpected casting of Viggo Mortensen as the character inspired by William
S. Burroughs, is a brilliant vignette, and quite true to life.
No doubt my view of the film is
colored by my own fascination with the Beat Generation, whose works and lives
I’ve studied for decades. My partner who is not so fixated said, “The film
seems to be about three things: substance abuse, male bonding, and abuse of
women.” Though I cannot disagree, to me the film, like the novel, provides a
depiction of how certain people can light up other’s lives with enthusiasm and
inspiration; this may even translate into the creation of writing and art.
Though creativity does not require
irresponsible behavior, the other side of the equation is the free spirits that
defy convention, and question external authority. For anyone interested in the
literary and cultural history of modern times, On the Road is definitely worthwhile. I’m less certain what I feel about
how the film ends, and yet in a real sense, that conclusion was only the
beginning of much else.
