On The Road

Jack Kerouac’s iconic novel has long been Hollywood’s biggest nightmare. How do you bring to the screen a stream-of-consciousness memoir about jazz, sex, Benzedrine and dreamers?

By removing the passion, apparently. Director Walter Salles and screenwriter José Rivera (the team behind The Motorcycle Diaries) singularly fail to bring Kerouac’s words to life.

Sam Riley plays Keroac’s alter-ego Sal Paradise, a promising writer who becomes entangled with the restless Dean Moriarty (modelled on Beat icon Neal Cassady). Garrett Hedlund (Tron, Country Strong) is tasked with capturing Dean’s seductively feverish energy. However his Brad Pitt good looks and easygoing charm feel more suited to a womanising Prom King quarterback than the fiery, free-wheeling and philosophical philanderer. Likewise, Kristen Stewart underplays Sal and Dean’s muse Marylou so that her magnetism is never revealed.

Those seeking some of the dazzle of Kerouac’s book will leave disappointed.