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The Way
| Released |
13 May 2011 |
| Director |
Emilio Estevez |
Starring
|
Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Yorick van Wageningen, Deborah Kara Unger, James Nebitt |
| Writer(s) |
Emilio Estevez |
| Producer(s) |
David Alexanian, Emilio Estevez |
| Origin |
United States |
| Running Time |
128 minutes |
| Genre |
Adventure |
| Rating |
12A |
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Sheen & Santiago.
A real sense of irony was the first thing to hit me as I walked in to watch a film in which Martin Sheen plays a father trying to cope with the loss of his middle aged son. In many ways The Way is art imitating life for Martin as its release date follows what's been a turbulent few months for the Sheen household. Thankfully this dichotomy is something that hasn't really been picked up by the media, in turn giving The Way a chance to be viewed on its own merits, without its lead star and director’s (Emilio Estevez, Martin’s other son) baggage overshadowing proceedings. What both men have produced here –and the film is theirs and theirs alone– is something beautifully simple and full of heart even if at times the mark is missed with some loose direction and TV movie feel.
There is a real Wizard of Oz feel here, with Martin Sheen's character Tom being Dorothy and Santiago substituting for the magical land of Oz. During Tom's 800km trek he acquires a number of tagalongs, each walking for very different reasons. Bizarrely nearly every character that we're introduced to –outside of Sheen's Tom- is immediately irritating, only to slowly break down this initial disdain and grow on you. These blow-ins include Deborah Kara Unger, Yorick van Wageningen and our very own James Nesbitt, all of which bring very different dynamics to this impromptu group and make The Way the enjoyable film it turns into. Of course it is Martin Sheen who moves The Way from its average potential to its memorable reality. A man whose likeability even surpasses that of Tom Hanks.
So as mentioned The Way’s saving grace are its characters that journey along the 'El Camino de Santiago'. Sadly the route itself is always secondary, a surprising weakness as Emilio Estevez had some extremely scenic shots he tries to use to populate his film. When Estevez does stop for some panorama his shots of the route aren't as cinematic as they really should have been and often look more like a Fáilte Ireland commercial than something you'd see in a national geographic feature. Terrence Malick, Estevez is not. The film run time also drags a little towards the end, long after the feel-good factor box has been ticked. A minor gripe but one you can't help but notice.
What initially seems to be a film about loss and how you cope with it, turned into something else altogether. A slow burner it may be but it's a grower and by the time the end credits roll you can't help but enjoy what this father and son have managed to create. The Way is something they've made for each other, with a good reception from outside parties being an added bonus but not necessarily an important one. You can't help but want to make the same journey.
- David Prendergast |
