I looked forward to this movie as I had heard good things about it. I enjoyed it when I saw it but for me it still failed on several key points.
1. Joshua Jackson was not the right actor for the role. Neither he nor the script gave me any sense of the inner turmoil secondary plot of a man searching for something knowing he has a fatal disease. Staring into the sunset isn't insightful. I don't think Jackson has the range for this role.
2. I found it difficult to find any sympathy for Ben. There was nothing in his life so important that I felt he was going to be a loss if he goes. I felt some sympathy for his mother but even then it was fleeting. And his silly helmet and goggles made him seem more like a big goof on a trip than a man seeking an understanding for what is happening to him.
3. There is no chemistry between Jackson and Balaban. While this is a minor subplot later in the movie, since it's not there from the start then the audience has no commitment to the fact that Jackson is taking this trip away from her. I was more concerned about the students he left behind to take this trip and we never got to see any of them.
4. Yes it's a nice trip across Canada but it's so stereotypical. A Canadian version of Michael or Weird Al's Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota. There is so much to Canada and you can be as stereotypical as you want without having to do the tourist stops. For me the single best element in the movie is the horse ride out into the prairie. It's away from tourist area and into the core of Canada. (Too bad it wasn't filmed in SK where it was supposed to take place. Although to be honest there are areas just like that in SK.) If the film hadn't been shot on a shoestring and so rushed then Ben could have visited truly amazing locations such as the Ouimet Canyon, Thunder Bay or Whiteshell Petroforms in MB or Grasslands National Park in SK. If I had a week to live (or a week to take a trip)I'd be going to lovely and amazing locations - not to the Sudbury nickle or the WaWa geese.
4. Besides the poor locations shots, the weather made you feel this was being shot on a rushed schedule. If nothing else the lack of variety of weather was odd. It was like they were following a weather front which would not have been reflective of a trip from Toronto to the Pacific Coast. It always seemed wet and cold. If you wanted to do a Canadian road trip then you'd have shown climate more reflective of the areas Ben was driving through.
5. And oddly Ben never learns to accommodate. While he is spending the night in rented accommodation, since he has rain almost every day, he never buys rain gear. Never buys gloves although he blows on his hands often enough. Regardless of thinking of his own mortality, he would have stopped and at least bought gloves.
So I liked the movie and when it's remade in 15 years time, it will be a far better version.
1. Joshua Jackson was not the right actor for the role. Neither he nor the script gave me any sense of the inner turmoil secondary plot of a man searching for something knowing he has a fatal disease. Staring into the sunset isn't insightful. I don't think Jackson has the range for this role.
2. I found it difficult to find any sympathy for Ben. There was nothing in his life so important that I felt he was going to be a loss if he goes. I felt some sympathy for his mother but even then it was fleeting. And his silly helmet and goggles made him seem more like a big goof on a trip than a man seeking an understanding for what is happening to him.
3. There is no chemistry between Jackson and Balaban. While this is a minor subplot later in the movie, since it's not there from the start then the audience has no commitment to the fact that Jackson is taking this trip away from her. I was more concerned about the students he left behind to take this trip and we never got to see any of them.
4. Yes it's a nice trip across Canada but it's so stereotypical. A Canadian version of Michael or Weird Al's Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota. There is so much to Canada and you can be as stereotypical as you want without having to do the tourist stops. For me the single best element in the movie is the horse ride out into the prairie. It's away from tourist area and into the core of Canada. (Too bad it wasn't filmed in SK where it was supposed to take place. Although to be honest there are areas just like that in SK.) If the film hadn't been shot on a shoestring and so rushed then Ben could have visited truly amazing locations such as the Ouimet Canyon, Thunder Bay or Whiteshell Petroforms in MB or Grasslands National Park in SK. If I had a week to live (or a week to take a trip)I'd be going to lovely and amazing locations - not to the Sudbury nickle or the WaWa geese.
4. Besides the poor locations shots, the weather made you feel this was being shot on a rushed schedule. If nothing else the lack of variety of weather was odd. It was like they were following a weather front which would not have been reflective of a trip from Toronto to the Pacific Coast. It always seemed wet and cold. If you wanted to do a Canadian road trip then you'd have shown climate more reflective of the areas Ben was driving through.
5. And oddly Ben never learns to accommodate. While he is spending the night in rented accommodation, since he has rain almost every day, he never buys rain gear. Never buys gloves although he blows on his hands often enough. Regardless of thinking of his own mortality, he would have stopped and at least bought gloves.
So I liked the movie and when it's remade in 15 years time, it will be a far better version.