If it feels as if an adaptation of Jack Kerouac's seminal novel, On the Road, has been talked about for decades it's because that has been the case. Francis Ford Coppola once had designs on directing the road trip piece himself, but after nearly thirty years of struggling with the material he finally passed the reins over to Walter Salles, the man behind the Che Guevara travelogue/coming of age film, The Motorcycle Diaries. Now after another five years, the film is done and a release date in September set for the U.K. It was only a matter of time before we got the first trailer, and now that day is here.
Featuring an unbelievable cast of young talent and reliable veterans, the film stars Sam Riley(Control) as aspiring New York writer Sal Paradise(a stand-in for Kerouac), who goes on a soul searching journey across America with the charismatic Dean Moriarty and his firecracker of a wife Marylou, played by Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart. The film was written by 'Diaries' scribe, Jose Rivera.
Immediately upon viewing, the first half seems a touch conventional, but in the second half we see the real impact Salles had, with the film literally dissolving into a beautiful, almost poetic style backed by an equally poignant score. We get some glimpses of the stacked supporting cast, especially Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, and Terrence Howard. No U.S. release date has been set yet, but expect that to come shortly. Check out the trailer for On the Road below.....
