Film Review: On The Road

Directed by Walter Salles and based on Jack Kerouac’s highly acclaimed 1957 novel of the same name, On The Road tells the largely autobiographical tale of author Kerouac’s spontaneous road trips with his friends across mid-century America in the 1940’s. Not using any real names in the film, Kerouac is named Sal Paradise and is played by Sam Riley, whilst his travelling companions Neal Cassady and Allen Ginsberg are named Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund) and Carlo Marx (Tom Sturridge) respectively. The trio encounter a mix of people on their journey, including both of Cassady’s wives, Lu Anne Henderson who is named Marylou (Kristen Stewart) and Carolyn who is named Camille (Kirsten Dunst), as well as Kerouac’s friend William S. Burroughs who is named Old Bull Lee (Viggo Mortensen) and his wife Joan Vollmer who is named Jane (Amy Adams). With Kerouac’s novel considered a defining work of the postwar Beat Generation, the trio’s journeys are full of jazz, sex, drugs, and plenty more sex, as their lives are impacted in very different ways.

Christian Slater Joins ‘Nymphomaniac’

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

There has been many things said about Lars Von Trier’s upcoming and inevitably erotic drama, Nymphomaniac, over the past couple of months, the latest writing on the wall being that Christian Slater has joined the cast.

Slater, best known for his role in the thriller/romance True Romance, will be playing the role of the main character’s father, the lead being Von Trier regular Charlotte Gainsbourg as the film is split into eight flashbacks, recounting her life and sexual exploits as a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac from her youth through to age 50.

New UK Trailer for ‘On The Road’

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

After the release of plenty of posters and clips for Walter Salles’ On The Road before it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, we now have a brand new trailer for the film.

An adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s highly acclaimed novel of the same name that was published in 1957, the story is largely autobiographical and is based on the spontaneous road trips Kerouac took with his friends, including that of Neal Cassady, William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, across mid-century America in the 1940s.

New Character Poster Featuring Tom Sturridge For ‘On The Road’

(Written for HeyUGuys)

With the release of the first character poster for Walter Salles‘ English-language French adventure, On The Road, earlier this month, this week sees the release of a new poster, this time featuring the handsome face of Tom Sturridge.

Directed by Salles, the film is based on American author Jack Kerouac‘s highly acclaimed novel of the same name that was published in 1957.

Largely autobiographical, the novel is based on the spontaneous road trips Kerouac took with his friends, including that of Neal Cassady, William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, across mid-century America in the 1940s.

Film Review: Melancholia

(Read this in my publication In Retrospect – Issue 2)

Rating:

Melancholia is an apocalyptic drama revolved around two sisters, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), during their final days before the end of the world. The planet Melancholia is heading towards Earth. Some think the planet will ‘fly-by’, whilst others worry that the planet will hit Earth, ending all of civilisation. The film is initially inspired by writer and director Lars von Trier’s personal experience with depression and is based on his insight that depressives remain calm in stressful situations. It is this relationship and contrast in the two sisters that the film focuses on.