There is a delicate balance needed when
creating a comedy that is also about mental illness. A certain amount of
respect and realism must be given to the disease and those who actually suffer
with it, but it can’t be so much that it weighs down the plot with cumbersome
melodrama. All of this pressure seems to rest on the shoulders of the actors in
The Road Within, which adopts the
now-familiar road trip narrative so often used in independent cinema. With most
of the film containing three characters in a car, the success of the story
depends a great deal on the success of these actors.
Robert Sheehan
has the most difficult task playing Vincent, a grieving young man with
Tourette’s Syndrome. After the death of his mother and primary caretaker, his
estranged father (Robert Patrick) arranges for him to move into a facility for
behavioral dysfunction. Paired with a confrontational roommate (Dev Patel)
suffering from extreme Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Vincent’s only relief from
the monotony of the facility is a rebellious young woman named Marie (Zoë
Kravitz), who has a severe eating disorder. These three take an impromptu road
trip after impulsively stealing the car of the facility’s compassionate head
doctor (Kyra Sedgwick), escaping even though they are not kept against their
own will.
The reason for
the road trip is as derivative as a road trip in an indi film can be, with
Vincent determined to scatter his mother’s ashes in the ocean. As the unlikely
trio makes their way across country in a series of hijinks and small victories,
they are pursued by the facility doctor and Vincent’s father. Much of this
material has been seen dozens of times before, with only the portrayal of
Tourette’s by Sheehan elevating the quality of filmmaking in the slightest. It
is just unfortunate that nothing in the screenplay from first-time filmmaker
Gren Wells lives up to the quality of the acting in the movie. This is
paint-by-numbers storytelling, regardless of how vivid the colors are made by
the quality of acting. Even the central relationship between Vincent and his
father just plods towards a predictable resolution, never truly earning the
emotional payoff.
Although
competently shot, there is nothing within this material that begs for a high
definition presentation. The Blu-ray does have a handful of special features,
though there is not enough separating it from the DVD release to justify an
upgrade. Included are interviews with the cast and director, as well as a
handful of deleted scenes and a music video by Oh Honey. There is also a
trailer.
Entertainment Value:
5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 2/10
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