On The Road: Whither goest thou, America, in thy shiny car in the night?

On The Road (2012) directed by Walter Salles is based on the Jack Kerouac novel of the same name first published in 1957, one of the main works of the Beat Generation. It’s not all that surprising that this fierce search for meaning and contexts still manages to fascinate a modern day audience, especially since it lauds the cult of individuality and exploration.

The main protagonist Sal Paradise (Sam Riley) starts his more or less Odyssean journey of self-discovery shortly after the death of his father in a period of acute writer’s block. He is introduced to Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund) by his friend Carlo Marx (Tom Sturridge).

Dean is the very epitome of a free spirit. He has adopted an itinerant life-style rife with drugs and jazz and women, amongst which two in particular are of importance here, the young Marylou (Kirsten Stewart) and the more respectable Camille (Kirsten Dunst). It works in heavy contrast with the glimpses of the orderly life Sal leads, living with his aunt, when he meets the brash Dean. There’s an obvious fascination there, with someone who lives their life with such a hectic, exuberant intensity. Dean does come across as a poet warrior bad boy soul, rootless and restless, always willing to go-go-go. That’s the seduction.

If you want to read more of my rambling on the Beat Generation please do so here: On The Road

Mule