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Big Sur

Big Sur

Movie · 2013 · 15 people

Jack Kerouac, one of the leading writers of the Beat Generation, published the novel Big Sur in 1962, and Michael Polish wrote and directed this American drama adaptation of it in 2013. Shot in 2.35:1 Cinemascope, it runs about 100 minutes. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 23 January 2013 and had a limited release in the United States on 1 November 2013. Critics were divided, and the reception is generally described as negative.

The story concerns the period when Kerouac, worn down in body and mind by the pressure of sudden fame after On the Road and by his drinking, goes from New York to California to recover. He makes three short stays at the cabin of his friend, the poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, in Bixby Canyon near Big Sur. Torn between the search for solitude in nature and the pull of city life, he passes through a strange stretch of time in which the writer's alter ego also appears. Jean-Marc Barr plays Kerouac; Kate Bosworth is Billie, Josh Lucas is Neal Cassady and Radha Mitchell is Carolyn Cassady.

The cast also includes Amy Adams, Kirsten Dunst, Anthony Edwards, Balthazar Getty, Elisabeth Moss, Stana Katic and Alice Braga. The film sits at the meeting point of adventure drama and biography.

DirectorMichael Polish
Big Sur Big Sur

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Cast

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Jean-Marc Barr Jean-Marc Barr Actor · 66 years old Steve Buscemi Steve Buscemi Film actor · 68 years old Josh Lucas Kate Bosworth Stana Katic Alice Braga Amy Adams Anthony Edwards Balthazar Getty Elisabeth Moss Giselle Itié Henry Thomas Kirsten Dunst Marie-Ginette Guay Patrick Fischler

Titles sharing this cast

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Portraying a writer with an inner life as dense as Kerouac's is the real test for Michael Polish. The wide Cinemascope frame tries to turn the landscape of Big Sur into a mirror of the search for solitude, and visually the film is ambitious. But that is probably where the largely negative reviews come from: a literary text driven more by states of mind than by plot can look scattered on screen to anyone watching from the outside. An abstract element like the alter ego does the storytelling no favours either. An interesting experiment for lovers of Beat literature; for those after a tight drama, a journey that demands patience.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The film focuses on the period when one of the best-known Beat writers was worn down by sudden fame and drink, and in that sense it invites a look at the far side of a generation's bright legend. The question of how fame can consume a writer is as current as ever. The pull between solitude in nature and the lure of the city reflects the inner contradiction of a generation that turned its back on the established order yet never quite broke free of it. Still, for viewers who don't know the Beat background, the film may move on without building enough context.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

This is not a family film. At its centre are alcoholism and a writer broken in body and mind; the subject is heavy and the mood dark. It's not suitable for children, and teenagers may find it heavy going. Adults with an interest in literature can watch it among themselves. If addiction has touched your family, go in knowing this story will not be easy to watch.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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