Friday, April 5, 2013

The Road Goes on Forever

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Kerouac’s “On The Road” in the Theater

“On the Road” was a ground-breaking novel by Jack Kerouac that defined what would become known as the Beat Generation. Opening April 5 at FAU’s Living Room Theater, “On the Road” is a cinematic treatment of the rambling book by Walter Salles, director of “The Motorcycle Diaries.” The central character of Sal Paradise, played by Sam Riley in the movie, is a fictionalized version of Kerouac. Similarily, Dean Moriarity (Garrett Hedlund) a stand-in for Kerouac’s best friend, Neal Cassady. Some of the characters are real fellow writers. Others are thinly-disguised.
Finished in 1951 but not published until 1957, mostly due to censorship issues, “On the Road” was a rambling, spontaneous, improvised interior monologue, famously typed on a 120-foot roll of paper with no punctuation or paragraph breaks.
The movie resembles the book rather self-consciously, as some of the actors are well known. A case in point is Marylou, played by “Twilight” star Kristen Stewart, who sheds her teen image along with her clothes for the amoral character. Also playing against type are Kirsten Dunst as Camille and Amy Adams as Jane. If you are looking for titillating thrills, you will not find them here. In fact “On the Road” with all its hetero and homosexual sex, smoking, drinking, drugging and carousing, becomes a bit dull. Sadly, Kerouac reached his own dead end in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1969. He died from internal bleeding as a result of his alcoholism. He was 47.

On a cheerier note...

Delray Beach Has a 3-Day “Affair”

The 51st Delray Affair is this weekend, April 5-7 along East Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. As always the Chamber of Commerce-sponsored art, entertainment and food festival is free and open to the public. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Call 561-278-0424 or go to www.delrayaffair.com for more information.


No comments:

Post a Comment