The best road movies by far
Spring has sprung (or is sprung), and like squirrels in the woods, we once again poke our heads out of our warm hibernation spots and drink in a more hospitable and welcoming world outside. Suddenly we feel adventurous, excited to explore all the countless crowded and unpredictable places around us, both near and far. With Homer’s “The Odyssey” setting the gold standard since ancient times, epic travel stories have always fascinated people. Whether they take place on an open road or an unpaved trail, these stories allow us to cover uncharted geography and delve into the human transformations that inevitably occur, however subtle, with most major missions we undertake.
The heroic quality of this kind of experience seems to magnify the scope and meaning of our lives like practically nothing else. What we call “the road movie” represents a direct descendant of Homer’s enduring universal epic. Digging deeper into this subgenre, I was surprised by how many of our best films actually fall into this category…in fact, you can break road films down into other discrete segments, like “buddy on the run” movies (with 1991’s “Thelma and Louise” is the most obvious example). Given the sheer number and variety of these features, any list of “observations” you compile will seem incomplete, so feel free to share your own favorites as well.
It Happened One Night (1934) – Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert), a confused heiress, hits the road incognito to escape an impending loveless marriage and a chronically overprotective father (Walter Connolly). Traveling with the common people on a bus, she meets reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable). Warne begrudgingly befriends this unusual creature, who seems curiously oblivious to the ways and customs of real life. When Peter discovers his true identity, he knows that he has the story of the century, but by this time, he too has started to have feelings for Ellie. What’s a desperate journalist in love to do? Frank Capra’s sublime romantic comedy swept the 1934 Oscars, and it’s still easy to see why. Colbert makes a slick and charming comedienne, and Gable has never been more engaging, winning his only Oscar for the role. “Night” is often cited as the first truly wacky comedy, and it’s certainly one of the best.
Out of the Past (1947) – Private detective Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) is hired by high-ranking mobster Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas) to find the thief’s runaway lover, Kathie Moffett (Jane Greer). Apparently, the young woman got into some serious mischief and ran away with $40,000. Following her south of the border, Bailey meets and falls for Kathie’s seductive charms, setting off a chain of events that drags him deeper and deeper into a world of lies, deceit and betrayal. Filled with expressionist lighting, sinister atmosphere and cynical dialogue, Jacques Tourneur’s “Past” is the quintessence of film noir. In a stellar performance, Mitchum cements his image as a laconic, world-weary fatalist, while the beaming Greer makes one of the sexiest entrances in movie history. These powerful ingredients combine to make this tough beauty almost perfect.
The Searchers (1956) – Three years after the Civil War, missing veteran Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) returns home to the frontier, where he is greeted by his jubilant family, including Martin (Jeffrey Hunter), a part-Cherokee adoptee who owes his life to Ethan. Tragedy strikes when a local tribe raids the farm, brutally murdering Ethan’s brother and sister-in-law and taking his infant daughter Debbie (Natalie Wood). Ethan and Martin immediately saddled up and set out to find her, having no idea that the journey would take them all the way to Canada and take seven years. Monument Valley has never looked so breathtakingly beautiful as it does in this exquisite, elegiac western from master John Ford. Wayne gives the performance of his life as the obsessed and enigmatic Ethan, while young Natalie is indelible in a brief role as Debbie, the kidnapped girl caught between two worlds. Ford described his ambitious masterpiece as a “psychological epic,” and this quaint, twisted adventure seems to become more nuanced with each viewing.
Two for the Road (1967) – The ups and downs of marriage are deftly explored through past and present vacations in the lives of well-to-do couple Joanna (Audrey Hepburn) and Mark Wallace (Albert Finney). We see the blossoming of early passion recede as, over time, the couple adjusts to life’s new priorities and struggles to maintain their intimacy and affection. This smart, savvy romance projects director Stanley Donen’s signature style, with Hepburn as the essence of ’60s chic and Finney (at his best) as the epitome of a strong, salty lead. European locations and a memorable score by Henry Mancini add the necessary flair to this mature and nuanced love story. William Daniels and Eleanor Bron are also memorable as another married couple who have Joanna and Mark examine the state of their own union.
The Last Detail (1973)– Hal Ashby’s seminal ’70s film has career sailors Buddusky (Jack Nicholson) and Mulhall (Otis Young) escorting a younger couple named Meadows (Randy Quaid) from Virginia to New Hampshire for an eight-month sentence. years on the fence. Feeling sorry for the naive and dazed young man, the two older men decide to show Meadows a wild time on the road, to make his upcoming incarceration more bearable. But are they really doing it for Meadows, or is it to protect themselves from his own feelings of incarceration? This gritty, wildly profane entry is equal parts funny and tragic, a tricky balance director Ashby maintains throughout. Quaid is wonderfully goofy and pathetic as perennial loser Meadows, but Nicholson’s Oscar-nominated performance as Buddusky is a revelation, easily comparable to his more widely recognized work in “Carnal Knowledge” and “Chinatown.” Rain Man (1988) – Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), a sly and selfish car salesman, discovers he has an autistic older brother named Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) when their father leaves behind a $3 million fortune that Charlie thought he would inherit in trust for your family. Eldest brother. Tracking down his mentally handicapped (but strangely gifted) brother in the institution he has called home for years, Charlie impulsively kidnaps Raymond, and the two begin a cross-country journey that becomes a journey of discovery for both of them. . Barry Levinson’s witty and slightly off-road imagery is also genuinely moving, offering a warm and humane look at disability. Though Cruise sometimes bristles in an unsympathetic role, Hoffman’s Raymond, a routine-oriented math whiz with no coping or social skills, makes the film. The actor is totally believable as a wiseass idiot with unexpected life lessons to impart to his younger brother, and this gutsy performance earned Hoffman an Oscar, while the film itself won for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay.
The Straight Story (1999)– Elderly Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth), living in a small town in Iowa with his daughter Rose (Sissy Spacek), learns that his estranged brother Lyle has suffered a stroke. Alvin is short on money and his failing eyesight has stolen his driver’s license, but he still wants to visit his brother to make amends. He climbs into his old John Deere lawn mower and begins his journey to see Lyle in Wisconsin, more than two hundred miles away. Director David Lynch shows uncharacteristic restraint in presenting this deceptively simple and moving story, one you wouldn’t believe if it weren’t true. Oscar-nominated Farnsworth gets the role of his career, inhabiting the worn-out Alvin like an old favorite work shirt. Alvin’s life is written all over his face; his folksy directness belies a hard-won wisdom. When we see him touch those he meets along his route, we get to know this humble man and support him in reaching out to his brother. Celebrating the power of forgiveness and human perseverance, this no-frills triumph is perfect for family viewing.
Transamerica (2005) – Just a week before pre-op transsexual Bree Osbourne (Felicity Huffman), formerly Stanley, is about to go under the knife to complete her transformation from male to female, she learns she has a 17-year-old son named Toby ( Kevin Zegers), who is currently in trouble with the law. Encouraged by her therapist (Elizabeth Peña) to confront her past, Bree breaks Toby out of jail (without revealing his true identity) and takes him on an eventful trip to Los Angeles. Expertly directed by first-time director Duncan Tucker, this funny and inventive film belongs to a tradition of beautifully observed films about non-traditional American families. Huffman is fascinating to watch, especially in the scenes of her with her disapproving mother, Elizabeth (Fionnula Flanagan). But it’s her relationship with Zegers, perfect as the troubled and miserable Toby, that gives the film her heart and soul. Her journey, so often the arc of growth in great road movies, is mutually nourishing and revealing. Cozy up with “Transamerica” for a frank and heartfelt outing.