Review by John Delia, Sr.
Far and few between the performances in the film Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, are generous and provoking. Meant in a good way however, it’s rare that you would find the emotion and candidness of the subject matter so brilliantly depicted. If you see one independent movie this year choose this true story, you will not be disappointed.
The story begins with John Callahan (Joaquin Phoenix) attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting with the group talking about who they are and how they started their life of dependence. It jumps ahead many years to John Callahan now a noted satirical cartoonist sitting in a wheel chair addressing a huge audience. He opens with “Hi my name is John Callahan and I’m and Alcoholicâ€. Flash back some years to a local meeting of AA and he is addressing a smaller audience telling his story about how he came to be in a wheelchair.
It then flashes back to John as he tells what happened that fateful day. He woke up with a hangover, showers and then gets the jitters. It’s a bad sign for him and the rest of the movie unfolds with how he handles his treatment, getting Donnie (Jonah Hill) to become his sponsor, dealing with everyday life as an alcoholic, meeting a lover (Rooney Mara) and spiraling up and down in his life like an airplane with engine trouble.
Gus van Sant deals with the subject matter in many ways from showing the recklessness of John to his desires to clean himself of the monster inside. He then shows his life having the added dependency of a wheelchair and the people who can fend for him. If you have ever known an alcoholic or even a drug addict than you may have seen how the disease takes over and how their personality changes especially when they are drunk or drugged out. The reality of it all comes out in the film and although all cases of people are different in some way, they are usually screaming for help within and being controlled by the substance not to give in to others who “think†they can help.
What makes the film more meaningful is the acting and the actors portraying the main characters. I’ve seen most all of Joaquin Phoenix’s films and each has had a character he made his own. A part of Joaquin separates from the actor we know and embodies the character being played out on the screen. It’s what makes him the consummate actor he is today and it has been a long road for him. If you have seen movies like Days of Wine and Roses and 28 Days, or Leaving Las Vegas they are all character driven. If the acting is just not right, it won’t work. With Phoenix the film becomes an outstanding work of art as he deals with alcohol and a debilitation. You will not want to miss his performance or the true story behind the man he portrays. Maybe it’s his way of admitting that at one time he walked that road.
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get That Far on Foot has been rated R by the MPAA for language throughout, sexual content, some nudity and alcohol abuse. Some scenes may be very hard to take, but stick with it for the moving finale.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A terrific film and one of Phoenix’s best performances. (5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Jonah Hill, Jack Black, Carrie Brownstein, Beth Ditto, Tony Greenhand, Mark Webber, Udo Kier, Rebecca Field, Oliva Hamilton and Kim Gordon
Directed and Screenplay by: Gus Van Sant
Based on and autobiography by: John Callahan
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
MPAA Rating: R for language throughout, sexual content, some nudity and alcohol abuse
Running Time: 1hr. 54 min.
Opening Date: July 27, 2018
Distributed by: Amazon Studios
Released in: Standard