A capsule of the Beats

Iceman-23

Seeing this film for the first time is like being introduced to that friend or lover you always dreamed about.  Neal Cassady, the hero of Jack Kerouac's On The Road and Visions Of Cody, comes to life on the screen, having the same effect as James Dean used to; as the old cliche goes:  women want him, men want to be him.  Taken from a letter Cassady wrote to good ol' Jack, the story meanders around the lives of Cassady, his pool hall boozer friend Harry, and his lovely but melancholy girlfriend Joan (played exquisitely by Claire Forlani, who is in my humble opinion one of the most beautiful and gifted people working in Hollywood today).  So, not to give too much of the plot away, Neal manages to have his decisions made for him; whether this is by fate or by his own personality is left up to the viewer.  Stephen Kay follows Cassady and recreates a legend before our eyes.  And whoever discovered Thomas Jane deserves a big ol' kiss.  The film delivers, and the spirit of the Beats once again is given a voice and, as it were, an image.

score /10

Iceman-23 16 May 1999

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0423109/