Don't
Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot 8/10
I just
finished watching the movie Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot. Cam
had talked about it on our Chocket Awards (click here to listen to
that) and I had not seen it yet. This is based off of the memoir of a
cartoonist named John Callahan and his journey from being an
alcoholic to quadriplegic to drunken quadriplegic artist to finally
sober. I liked the way that they portrayed his alcoholism in this. It
never seemed fun. In some movies they make it seem like this personal
party to the person involved but in this they managed to really show
how sad and lonely it can actually be. One night while partying and
drinking John meets a guy named Dexter and they just keep the party
going until they end up crashing. Dexter gets away fine but John
loses his ability to feel below his neck.
John
joins a support group run by Donnie Green. He is very confrontational
with the group and lashing out at everyone who points out to him that
he will do much better once he accepts that they all have problems,
he is not alone, and they are there to help him.
Most
scenes like this in movies bore the hell out of me, as if the people
are there for just background noise until the main story continues.
But in this it felt much different. I appreciated the way it was
shown. Donnie's way of running the group keeps everyone in line and
he makes sure that everyone is respectful of each others thoughts and
the time in the group is not wasted.
In
rehab for his injuries John meets a physical therapist named Annu who
eventually because a flight attendant after budget cuts. They have an
on again off again love type thing and I liked the way it was shown
and handled. John also has a caretaker who is not a big fan of the
way John treats him. John, while in AA, continues to drink and one
night has a vision of his mother that put him up for adoption. John
has to reconcile all of the hurt he has caused on others an himself.
He finds people he has upset or may have hurt in his life to say
sorry including his adoptive parents and even Dexter.
Over
time John begins to take drawing seriously and eventually gets published in papers and
magazine. Some people laugh and of course some are offended by his
stuff. When this ended I was bummed out by the fact that the guy this
was based off of had passed away. This was a well shot, edited,
acted, and directed movie. It also made me look at alcoholism
differently. Not in any particular brand new way but just
differently.
Joaquin
Phoenix as John Callahan
Jonah
Hill as Donnie Green
Rooney
Mara as Annu
Jack
Black as Dexter
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