The Roads Not Taken
ifsWhile the intentions of Sally Potter's The Roads Not Taken are clear from the outset, unfortunately, the directors' latest feature is a far cry of her greatest work.
Thematically speaking and regarding the feature’s genre, Potter's film is incredibly indecisive and muddled. On the one hand, The Roads Not Taken eyes being a crippling look at the devastating impact of dementia and on the other projects itself as an Alejandro G. Iñárritu like existential crisis, but the two are mutually exclusive here and do not have to be.
There are three main narratives on offer. The first follows Javier Bardem's Leo in his native homeland as he comes to terms with the breakdown of his sweetheart (Salma Hayek). The second follows Leo’s existential crisis in Greece while coming to terms with fatherhood, and finally the third in New York with daughter Molly (Elle Fanning) while Leo is in the midst of a deliberating disease. Three substantial arcs in 89 minutes.
There is far too much material that Potter wants to cover here and in her self-indulgent, regarding the screenplay, nothing of the three has enough depth to craft intrigue or merit in substantial value. Towards the end of the film it could possibly be inferred that this narrative technique and edit is meant to infer the unstable mind of Leo, and his purgatory esque life, leaving the only memories his brain can put forward. However, it’s never truly clear what Potter wants to covey, because with all three narratives and arcs, nothing much is said in the wake of this disease, nor the life of Leo for that matter.
Fanning and Hayek are utilised in bloated cameos and are wasted/put to one side to allow Bardem, who is dearly miscast here, mellow in self-tragedy without engaging material provided. Bardem is a silent emotive character actor but showcases very little physical and emotional conviction. This is a performance that demands and furiously evocative emotional conviction, and it falls severely flat on both fronts. Before the dementia diagnosis, the performance is flat uninspiring and quite frankly unironically ghostly, the latter half is even worse. It comes across like parody on occasion, and how the film ends is quite contextually patronising and morally confusing.
It is clear what Potter's intentions are and with the effects of dementia — something that is close to the evocative director's heart — it becomes even more saddening. However, if the material is something that does interest, Gus Van Sant's Don't Worry He Won't Get Far On Foot is a better example that digs deeper into illness and the psychological insight and exploration of the people it effects.
