The Road Within - A Movie Review

Nobody ever knows what battles people are facing. Stick to your road.

The Road Within traveled into theaters in 2014. A young man with Tourette's Syndrome is on a mission to bury his mother’s ashes. Escaping with two friends from a behavioral facility, these three unlikely people learn to understand one another's battles.

You never know what anybody is going through. That’s what’s called, the road within. Originally I did not want to watch this film because I was put off by the behavior and foul language shown in the trailer. Watching this movie made me think. The Road Within logs an adventure between people who should be given more limelight in media.

Robert Sheehan, Dev Patel, and Zoe Kravitz play an unlikely trio. Each battling their own illnesses, I liked the way they studied their characters. Obviously getting on each other's nerves, they need to learn to understand so they can achieve their adventure. Their heart-to-heart conversation was a thought-provoking scene of how they fear they don’t fit in with society.

Each went about studying their conditions, bringing to light genuine performances. Sheehan often stayed in character off-camera. To prepare for his role, Sheehan studied with Jackson Kramer, the spokesperson for Tourette’s Society of America. He was excellent on his part. I believed that he had Tourette's Syndrome.

Kravitz went to the extremes in her role as Maria who is battling severe anorexia. Losing 20 pounds for her role, yielding this amount of weight caused ill effects on Kravitz’s health following the making of this film. Actors, and the director, should look out for themselves if a role is going to affect them like this.

The one segment that I wasn’t satisfied with was the subplot involving Robert and Dr. Rose (Robert Patrick and Kyra Sedgewick). Their scenes were mainly filler. Plus, in films where a parent is looking for their kid, writers always implement a lesson for the parent.

Patrick was too aggressive in his portrayal. Robert is way too overdramatic and should have been toned down. He acts so childish, too. Aside from yelling too much, Patrick delivered a heartfelt speech about what his son meant to him. That was the only believable scene in his performance.

I like how side characters are used in these films. How are they going to interact with someone who is different? Everyone’s reaction is important. It all comes down to being nice or taking advantage of it while you can.

This film may not appeal to all audiences due to the foul language and subject matter. But it is an important film. It helps you learn about Tourette’s Syndrome, OCD, and anorexia. These disorders are not something to ignore or turn your nose up at someone who sports symptoms. We need more films like this.

Gren Wells surfaced attention to a heartfelt story about adventure. It’s a film about how to overcome personal matters. We can do anything. With the right motivation and encouragement, it is possible to overcome obstacles. Just remember that everyone has issues. Instead of hiding, go out and live.

There were a couple of scenes towards the end that I did not feel were necessary. The characters have already had several arguments, so he was repeating a lot of the conversations and lessons they have already learned.

At first, I was going to skip out on this film. I am so glad that I didn’t. Thinking that I wouldn’t enjoy it, turns out I was wrong. I love when movies do that. Put The Road Within on your watch list.