On the Road

Name: On the Road
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Released: December 21, 2012
Duration: 124 min
Rating: 56
Cast: Amy Adams, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Sam Riley, Viggo Mortensen

2012

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Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 61 Ratings

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5.9

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5.9	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 61 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC Films | Release Date: December 21, 2012 | R

Starring: Amy Adams, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Sam Riley, Viggo Mortensen

Summary: In this adaptation of Jack Kerouac's classic novel, a young man sets out to travel the roads and railways of America.

Director: Walter Salles

Genre(s): Adventure, Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 124 min

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Critic Reviews

Joe Williams

Mar 21, 2013

Notwithstanding the characters’ spiritual camaraderie, Salles’ emphasizes the hard physical labor and loneliness in Sal’s story, including the jittery rigors of the writing process. When he reaches a crossroads choice between down-and-out Dean and his own rising career, Sal senses that except for the words on a typewritten scroll, his life on the road is gone, real gone. Read full review

IndieWire Eric Kohn

Dec 20, 2012

Overlong and unfocused in parts, Salles' adaptation nonetheless holds together about as well a movie can when the odds are so heavily stacked against it. Read full review

Steven Rea

Mar 21, 2013

On the Road is an honorable homage to the bennies-and-booze-and-bebop-driven hegiras undertaken by the fiercely dedicated anti-establishment duo. But in Salles, screenwriter Jose Rivera and company's effort to get the details right, they only get so far. And it's not quite far enough. Read full review

James Mottram

Dec 4, 2012

It may lose its way on occasions, but thanks to a committed cast and a script that captures the Kerouac vibe, Salles' adaptation never ends up on the road to nowhere. Read full review

David Denby

Jan 13, 2013

On the Road is always on the verge of imparting some great truth, but it never arrives. [14 Jan. 2013, p.79]

Nick Pinkerton

Dec 18, 2012

Here is one glimmer of truth in what's otherwise a deliberately unfinished fraud - another "primitive" postwar antique repurposed for boutique sale. Read full review

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Dec 4, 2012

On the Road does, ultimately, have a touching kind of sadness in showing how poor Dean is becoming just raw material for fiction, destined to be left behind as Sal becomes a New York big-shot. But this real sadness can't pierce or dissipate this movie's tiresome glow of self-congratulation. Read full review

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User Reviews

luacheia99

Dec 22, 2012

First I have to say I am not in any means a writer, I tend to be prolix and get lost in side thoughts. The language is also a problem... If put thoughts in words is difficult, you can imagine how difficult is to put it in other language than your native one. So...

I read a lot about it,First I have to say I am not in any means a writer, I tend to be prolix and get lost in side thoughts. The language is also a problem... If put thoughts in words is difficult, you can imagine how difficult is to put it in other language than your native one. So...

I read a lot about it, saw a lot of interviews, articles and critics of the book and the movie (mostly French, some aussie and American). When the Brazilians articles, interviews and movie critics started come out I got very happy to see another tone. A more positive tone and a sense that Walter had done something very intimated, very raw, very human, not a adaptation but a personal view... But some still talking that he still did not made the movie stand by itself.

So I went to the movie with a mind open and waiting for the excellency that is traditionally Walter's works.

I didn't feel the movie long or boring at all... The close shots and the open views are both incredibly good. Walter did an amazing job getting subtitle details that show and say more than words with handheld shots.

The movie is not about "On The Road The book" and also it is not about "On The Road The scroll version book", it is Walter Salles vision of be youth and everything that it brings to the scene. The selfishness, the craziness, the curiosity for the unknown, the anxiety to put out all you are feeling and share it with others, the feeling that you need to do something but you don't know what, the desire of be different, of do something that makes difference, the desire of be creative, the desire of taste and prove all at the same time. Some are followers, some open roads. All of it brings happiness, friendship, auto-affirmation but angst, pain, deception, feeling of failure. Walter talks essential about the human condition of the after WWII young generation that saw all the reactionary values be destroyed by the war and they went out just asking questions, tasting and living each moment as it would be the last one. A highly creative time in poetry, paint, and music! In the end he showed that it is a period in our lives and it pass and you have to get along with it, if not, if you get stuck and don't grow, you will be left behind. It is life!

The movie is an intense character driven movie, based on the scroll version, as well the biographies, interviews, tapes, 5 years of making documentary, books, musics, paints... but just based... because it is clear that he, Riveras and the actors deconstructed all and improvised mostly all! Most have being said about Garrett acting and Kristen's also but all the cast is amazing. Sam Riley was a huge surprise for me! He got me since the first second of the movie and it was him that I followed until the end! Tom did an amazing job!!! Never had seen him in anything before and man... He has gotten my attention now! Alice, Viggo, Elizabeth, Amy, Kirsten were incredible! Their moments are lessons of work of the art of acting! Garrett is really incredible! Of course his character is the one who gives the actor the most chance to show his chops but he took the chance and brought it on! His Dean is everything Walter wanted to transmit in his vision of Youth and The Beats. In some moments he seems hypnotized in a tranzy. Now... Kristen! Kristen disappeared! The only WOMAN in the silver screen was Marylou! She got the voice tone, she got the moves... I have to be honest with you guys... I was very disturbed by that actress who was soooo open and sexual! I was not expecting at all this feeling! It was like see a daughter... It was very disturbing... I could not recognized that woman! I think it is the most huge compliment I could give to her! She really became something that I could not see any trace of her! She really brought Lu Anne to the screen and show that Lu Annes was the most of them who lived the Beat spirit! She was not there following the men, she was there on her own therms. A free spirit, without preconception or fear or angst but just curious and living! She was doing what she wanted and the moment she decided she was done with that period of her life, she said I done, it is not the future that I want and left. Kristen's improvisation on that scene in the car that Walter talks about a lot is really amazing! Outstanding!

I don't agree with the critics that say it is long. It is not! Is it sometimes episodic? Yes it is, but every one of the scenes had to be there, because it was in the book and these characters had a huge importance on the Beat Generation. Forget all you have read, because it is Walter's vision and its sustained by its self as a piece of work! It is very beautiful, amazingly acted, shows human reactions, deceptions, angsty, dreams, happiness, pain, friendship, creativity, beauty, colour, tones! Shows a moment in history but most of all shows the real people on who was based the characters. Full of life and creativity but selfish and in-consequent!… Expand

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

WadeVS

Sep 25, 2013

For direction and writing that stays incredibly true to the book, this is a masterpiece. Kirsten Stewart fails to shine, but the rest of the cast do a mighty fine job.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

francesco

Mar 15, 2013

It must have been difficult for Walter Salles to adapt a timeless and acclaimed novel as "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac. The result is a fascinating and punctual film that very well describe the heart and soul of the beat generation and the emotional journey of Sal Paradise-Jack Kerouac(SamIt must have been difficult for Walter Salles to adapt a timeless and acclaimed novel as "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac. The result is a fascinating and punctual film that very well describe the heart and soul of the beat generation and the emotional journey of Sal Paradise-Jack Kerouac(Sam Riley) and the decisive meeting with the free-spirited and deeply chaotic Dean Moriarty-Neal Cassidy (Garret Hedlund) with his wife Marylou (Kristen Stewart),whom he had a very troubled relationship. The film also introduces other key characters as Carlo Marx-Allen Ginsberg (Tom Sturridge), famous poet of the beat generation Camille-Carolyn Cassidy (Kirsten Dunst), second Moriarty's wife and Old Bull Lee-William S.Borroughs (Viggo Mortensen), poet and artist. The film manages to express the feelings and emotions of the two leading characters played extremely well by Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund. As for Kristen Stewart, her performance is really good even though her role doesn't offer much memorable scenes in terms of acting. Nevertheless, she is able to express her inner desire of a normal life with children. Tom Sturridge is also very well involved and plays effectively his role with some important scenes. Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst are really amazing in their limited screen times. Particularly, Dunst was truly commanding in a scene involving her and Hedlund arguing about father's duties. Walter Salles creates a suggestive atmosphere that is one of the winning point of his adaptation. Nonetheless, the films is a little difficult to follow due to his prolongation in some adventures of the two men. The soundtrack is another important element in the film and express the situation involving Sal and Dean. My vote is 8/10.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

DCEdmonds

Nov 13, 2014

"On the Road" 10 Scale Rating: 4.0 (Bad) ...

The Good: If it weren't for Garrett Hedlund, this film would have been a disaster. His performance at least keeps you interested. The Bad: Some books just don't translate to film very well ... Kerouac's "On the Road" is one of them. The film"On the Road" 10 Scale Rating: 4.0 (Bad) ...

The Good: If it weren't for Garrett Hedlund, this film would have been a disaster. His performance at least keeps you interested.

The Bad: Some books just don't translate to film very well ... Kerouac's "On the Road" is one of them. The film seemed to gloss over the more important parts of the book, yet focus on the slower (and more boring) parts. It is especially rushed during the last thirty minutes. If you've ever read the book, then you will cringe once you see that only 30 minutes remain and there is no way they can fit it all in. Lastly: Kristin Stewart.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

lahaine2012

Dec 26, 2012

For a movie that was meant to take us on a wild ride with idols from the spontaneous beat culture, it sure does follow a familiar road map. Always maintaining the same route and never attempting to venture out into an uncharacteristic art form, On the Road proves to be an underwhelming andFor a movie that was meant to take us on a wild ride with idols from the spontaneous beat culture, it sure does follow a familiar road map. Always maintaining the same route and never attempting to venture out into an uncharacteristic art form, On the Road proves to be an underwhelming and disappointing road film, on many levels. This is primarily due to the narrow screenplay that sticks to that aforementioned, familiar path; and the dull central presence of … Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

tonyGreen

Nov 29, 2018

Miserably fails to translate the literature into film. A common problem. If you don't know of Kerouac's life and works, you will be bored. If you do, dismayed.

Still, a bit of the passion of the book seeps through. Skip the film, read the book :)

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

JohnnyStephens

Aug 31, 2013

One of the worst road movies ever made. I saw it when it first came out and I wanted like crazy to leave the cinema earlier. I didn't leave earlier but I cried in the end for my money. If I new that this film is so awful, I would spend my money to Star Trek or The Lone Ranger.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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