MovieChat Forums > On the Road (2012) Discussion > Good Film But Its Not Kerouac's On The R...

Good Film But Its Not Kerouac's On The Road

posted 9 years ago by kingkoopa77
3 replies | jump to latest

Enjoyed the film, great performances by Sam Riley & Garrett Hedlund but ultimately its not on the road. Certainly not Kerouac's book anyway.

If they had said "Loosely based on..." or something to that effect then this film might not get as much hate as it does.

I think if you come from the great book to watch this, you will initially be disappointed & rightly so.

So much left out, so much added, so different interpretations.

If you watch this without reading, or indeed knowledge of the book, i think you will get away with it & enjoy the film.

its not "On The Road", but a good film anyways.

[–] Ace_Spade 9 years ago

I haven't read the book. What makes you say it's just not "On the Road"? I assume you're talking as much about tone or style as content. Yes?

[–] TequilaMockingbird5150 8 years ago

to Kerouac's original draft than the edited version.

The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new. Samuel Beckett

[–] generationofswine 8 years ago

GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!

Have you read the source material? I've been a Kerouac fan for a very long time and even I admit that not being entirely based on the source material is a good thing not a bad thing.

"mañana" honestly, do you want to watch the grape picking thing and hear a narrator talk about not knowing what mañana means but thinking it's the most beautiful thing in the world?

There are serious parts of most Kerouac novels that you have to just muscle your way through, parts that are dull and monotonous to even the most devout Kerouac fans.

You can't keep a Kerouac novel true to the source material and not make it a horrible film. It just doesn't translate to the movies and "Loosely based on..." is the most you can hope for in a Kerouac movie...and something that is ultimately necessary.

"Few people understand the psychology of dealing with a highway traffic cop."