By Teri Bayus ~
A Walk In The Woods is a film that follows Robert Redford, as author Bill Bryson, as he makes an ill attempted trek along the famed Appalachian Trail with his long estranged friend, Steven Katz, played by Nick Nolte.
Director is Ken Kwapis, but this book adaptation did not excite as much as the source material, however, it was a fun movie to watch.
The plot: travel writer, Redford, wants to reinvigorate his life. Many of the people he knows are dying and he wants to do one great thing. He’s a successful, yet unfulfilled writer.
His patient and loyal wife, Emma Thompson, tries to get him to perk up. He has returned home to New Hampshire after years living in the U.K. He comes up with an idea to walk the Appalachian Trail to experience and reconnect with his country.
He contacts many of his friends who refuse to accompany him on this fool’s journey. Steven Katz, an estranged friend, begs to be included in this adventure.
I was impressed that Ken Kwapis and his writers, Rick Kerb and Bill Holderman, did not try to recreate the book. What they did was put together vignettes, episodes similar to the book but more adaptable to the screen.
Nolte captured Katz to his very soul. Katz is the everyman of this insane millennium — out of work, fighting booze, avoiding drugs, running from the law — and Nolte nailed it. Surprisingly, Redford plays straight man to Nolte’s Katz throughout the movie. A very subtle performance that turned the film into The Stephen Katz Story rather than Bill Bryson’s walk in the woods.
Redford has been trying to do this movie for years and originally, he wanted Paul Newman to play his friend. It’s rated “R” for language and some sexual content. I would say, read the book and then rent the movie.
Teri Bayus can be reached at: [email protected] or follow her writings and ramblings at: www.teribayus.com. Bayus also hosts Taste Buds, a moving picture rendition of her reviews shown on Charter Ch. 10. Dinner and a Movie is a regular feature of Tolosa Press.
