Charisma only goes so far if there’s nothing to back it up. Risk taking will eventually catch up with you if there’s no safety net. And every generation of youth is the same. Ennui, boredom, confusion, lack of focus — these are eternal struggles when you aren’t worried about starving to death. Sometimes it does’t just happen to fictional movie characters either — sometimes it’s real life. Sort of.

On the Road, from director Walter Salles, is based on the so-called “voice of a generation” book of the same name by Jack Kerouac about a character based on himself and his various friends and family. Sam Riley plays this author-insert role of Sal Paradise, who is an aspiring writer (as are we all). Sal gets caught up in the destructive tornado that is Dean (Garret Hedlund), who screws, drinks, and drugs himself through life. Sal ends up “on the road” several times, sometimes by himself to go to Dean and other times to leave him, sometimes with Dean and his sorta girlfriend MaryLou (Kristen Stewart). Many cameos are littered throughout this movie, introducing interesting characters and then discarding them after a few minutes. It becomes all about Sal growing up and hoping Dean will mature … or maybe leave him alone.

The movie is really just a series of short vignettes with a few recurring characters and occasionally similar themes. For a movie based on a book designed to critique conformity, it seems like a hundred other “coming of age” movies at once. Perhaps that’s a product of being based on a book several decades old. The acting in the movie is actually overall very good, with a real intense charisma from Garret Hedlund, and a surprisingly decent subtle performance from Kristen Stewart. It looks and sounds beautiful, but it all seems pointless. The movie’s just all over the place, and doesn’t seem inspiring or intriguing. It’s really just a pleasant (if intense) time with some interesting stories, but then it’s over.

Sort of like real life, I suppose, but I usually prefer a movie with a bit of escapism.

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