The Way Back - Movie No. 7

The Way Back

Director: Peter Weir
Starring: Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris and Colin Farrell
Year: 2010
Watched: 6/1/11

What the fudge is it?

A not so merry band of Siberian gulag escapees go for a massive trek over 4000 miles to India with not a Burger King or Little Chef in sight.

What i thought...

I don't like the idea of walking to the local shop let alone from siberia to india.

The way back or as it should be titled the very fucking long way back tells the story of a group of escapees and their journey as they flee a gulag labour camp. The film introduces us to Janusz (Sturgess) during his interrogation. We see him wrongly imprisoned and follow his journey to freedom.

Mark strong makes a short but memorable appearance, like most of his performances he is great and its just a shame that he wasn't in it for longer. Looking back the character has no real impact on the story but to serve as a warning to Janusz.

Sturgess is great and to be honest i didn't even recognize him. I rather stupidly assumed he was some good foreign actor not the guy from 21 and across the universe. He handles the accent and dialog perfectly and is the driving force behind the film.

Although Sturgess is fantastic for me the show belongs to Ed Harris and Colin Farrell. Farrell plays the what could best be described as the fucked up, drunk, sadistic Russian. i'm pretty sure thats what they wrote in the script. Much of the conflict and distrust within the group of runaways come from Farrells character. In my eyes the guy can do no wrong just like London "Cockney Monkey" Boulevard and Ondine he shows another side to himself. The accent works and the bastard has the craziest look in his eyes the whole way, the look id imagine Farrell used to dawn when on a bender.

Ed Harris plays the worn down american pilgrim, within the prison he portrayed the strong experienced prisioner who kept his head down and knew how to survive. On the outside we see an old weathered man, Harris has a face that resembles a desert this is not a bad thing as the toil and fatigue of the journey is perfectly represented by Harris. Mr Smith (Ed Harris) was the one character that i really cared about. Much like the main character in the Road he flicks between being a strong survivalist and needing the help of others.

With very little time spent on the actual escaping the majority of the film plays out like a road more of the more bleak nature. More like the road than sex drive or road trip. We see the group progress across the cruel landscape surviving on next to nothing.

Along the way the group encounter Saoirse Ronans character who acts as a nice in between the males of the group. It is through the young girl that we find out more about the group. The relationship between Irena and the pilgrim (Ed Harris) character is one of the most interesting of the film and the two are fantastic on screen together.

If the film has one major downfall its that you very rarely feel worried for the group. This is not to say that people dont die, the fantastic looking shots of landscapes and scenery distance us from the people. The group seem to go from one cliche event to the next and the dread of death never seems to really sink in. Maybe i am a cold bastard but i sat and thought "wow this is impressive" instead of "fuck i hope they all make it".

This review is wandering and rambling along like the movie. I definitely enjoyed it but it is slow in parts and a lot to watch. Everything looks brilliant and it has some fantastic performance from Colin Farrell, Ed Harris and Jim Sturgess


Overall
Good to watch for just the once me thinks! Some great performance with Colin Farrell and Ed Harris standing out. The film seems to plod from cliche to cliche and never really grips you in or makes you feel completely worried for the characters.

3.5/5