The Roads Not Taken (2020)

The Roads Not Taken (2020) Maybe you should see it once…

The intro is original… but already annoying!
It begins with a telephone ringing – during the presentation of the actors‘ and actresses’ names – and no one picks it up.

I really like Road Movies in general.
The Straight Story (1999) was extremely touching. Pieces of April (2003) was a dramatic comedy. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) was mostly a comedy, but it was very moving.

This one is a drama. It’s not light, fun and exciting. It’s harder to watch.
In fact, it’s not even a road movie!
It was a little cultural minute where I lost myself, just like the main character…

The film recounts the thoughts that go through the mind of a man, Leo, and his difficulties. Leo suffers from what appears to be dementia, he has communication difficulties and those around him who try to help him in everyday life (notably his daughter Molly) also suffer from the situation. This theme may have been inspired to the director, Sally Potter, by a tragedy in her own family.
Sally is an English film director, screenwriter, composer and actress.

The film is told through three different versions of Leo’s life, all of which intersect to form the plot of the film, and are set in different locations, New York City, Mexico City and Greece.

In other words, The Roads Not Taken follows 24 significant hours in the lives of Leo (Javier Bardem) and his daughter Molly (Elle Fanning) as they struggle with the increasingly critical mental state of her single father. As they weave their way through a stressful day in New York and try to manage normal everyday life, Leo keeps getting lost in two realities of life that he could have lived this way: From his passionate marriage to his childhood sweetheart Dolores (Salma Hayek) in Mexico to a life of solitude on a remote Greek island, where a chance encounter with two young tourists brings painful and uncomfortable ideas to light.

If you’re watching this film for Salma Hayek, you should know that we hardly see her at all.
For my part, I was even more fooled, because I watched it for Laura Linney, even though we see even less of her. Two extraordinary actresses nonetheless.

I’m not a fan of Elle Fanning, but let’s face it, she’s incredible in this film and her acting is frighteningly accurate. I’m mainly a fan of her sister, Dakota, but Elle is fabulous here. Quite a far cry from her most boring films, Somewhere (2010), Super 8 (2011) and The Neon Demon (2016).

As for Javier Bardem, he’s a world away from his traumatic role in No Country for Old Men (2007). He plays the sick person in the film. Quite touching!

If it were just a question of the actors, they’d all get top marks.
Unfortunately, this is the film I have to judge and I was more bored than anything else, despite the compelling subject matter. It’s not a feature film I’d necessarily recommend. The pace is very slow. There’s nothing sparkling, it’s ultra gloomy. Obviously, it shows the descent into hell for the person with dementia and those around them. The director has hit the nail on the head and shown what she wanted to share with us. But the flashbacks constantly break up the film, even though they’re very well done. I’m simply not a fan of films that take place over several time periods. You need a hell of a script to make it exciting.

Glad I saw it once, though!

My Rating