Robert Redford, Nick Nolte and Emma Thompson star in this heartwarming comedy based upon a book of the same name by celebrated travel writer Bill Bryson.
Reluctant to settle into retirement, Bryson (Redford) challenges himself to hike the legendary Appalachian Trail. That extends to more than 3,000 kilometres and stretches across 14 states through some of the most spectacular and rugged wilderness in America. Concerned about how her husband will fare on the grand trail, Bill’s wife (Thompson) insists he find a travel companion. But the only person willing to take on the challenge is his old high school buddy Stephen Katz (Nolte), a wisecracking, larger-than-life personality who is out of shape and, arguably, out of his mind. As the two men set off into the wilderness, they encounter an assortment of eccentric characters, wild animals and perilous weather in an epic journey that will test the limits of their friendship.
A Walk In The Woods is an at-times funny and touching story about two men who finally discover that life is about the journey, not the destination. When director Ken Kwapis first read Bill Bryson’s memoir “A Walk In The Woods,” he was struck by the fact that this “two-hander” really has three main characters: Bryson, his friend Katz and the Appalachian Trail itself. Kwapis had just directed the rescue adventure Big Miracle, which pitted characters against an extreme environment (northern Alaska in the dead of winter). He relished the chance to tell another story in which the natural world plays an important role. Also, like Bryson, he felt a strong urge to go into the woods, literally and figuratively. Kwapis yearned to unplug the computer, put away the mobile phone and have an unmediated experience of nature.
The other thing that struck him about Bryson’s book was that it is a character piece disguised as a travel memoir. It’s about what constitutes real friendship and about lost time. As Kwapis puts it, Katz bursts into Bryson’s life at a key moment. Bryson feels that his creative life has reached a dead end. Everywhere he looks he sees portents of his own mortality. Katz’s return is timely and more than a bit karmic. Finally, Kwapis was struck by how funny Bryson’s memoir is.
While A Walk In The Woods is a journey of self-discovery and its themes are quite profound, it often plays out like a Bob Hope and Bing Crosby “Road” movie. Kwapis saw in the memoir a single mantra, namely life requires living. As he says, Bryson and Katz’s journey could not be more ill advised. Neither man is in prime shape. Bryson, who instigates the trek, is even hard-pressed to explain why he’s doing it. But what’s clear to Kwapis is that Bryson and Katz have embarked on this cockeyed adventure because they simply will “not go gentle into that good night.” They’re thumbing their noses at the naysayers; indeed, they’re thumbing their noses at death itself. Until it’s over, they remind us, the game is still afoot.
In recent years, I have seen a number of movies about ageing men wandering about and discovering themselves. I am thinking about the likes of The Way with Martin Sheen and The Trip with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. They have all been okay. None, though, have really excited me and, to tell you the truth, by the time I get half way through I can’t wait for them to end. I was curious as to whether A Walk in The Woods would be any different. Unfortunately, the short answer is “no”.
Robert Redford, channeling Bill Bryson, is a man of few words who has an acerbic sense of humour that is used to great effect early on. But, as we get into the body of the story very little happens and the narrative drags. As for Nick Nolte, playing his distant so-called friend Stephen Katz, when you first hear him on a phone call with Bryson and then later on, when you see him, you can barely make out what he is saying. Nolte plays rumpled and grizzled better than almost anyone and this time his language matches that persona. Let’s put it this way, his character has lived and is fundamentally down and out. He is in no shape to walk 10 steps let alone the Appalachian Trail, but then that is, of course, a key ingredient in the story. So Katz is portrayed as a man of simple and sometimes eclectic tastes, while Bryson is his antithesis – well read and respected, but not a people person. In fact, he is decidedly awkward, out of place around others. Although Bryson has nothing but disdain for Katz when this unlikely duo gets together, the journey undoubtedly has a positive effect on both of them. That still, though, doesn’t leave enough for us, the audience.
Sure, the scenery is, at times, truly awe-inspiring, but some of the dialogue is downright childish and far below the standard I would have expected. In fact, it left me disappointed. This is all about a movie of what could have been, rather than what was. And that was so much more of a let down because of what was such a bright start.
Rated M, A Walk In The Woods scores a 5½ to 6 out of 10.
Director: Ken Kwapis
Cast: Nick Nolte, Robert Redford, Emma Thompson, Nick Offerman, Mary Steenburgen and Kristen Schaal
Release Date: 3 September 2015
Rating: M
Alex First
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television
