A Walk in the Woods

"A Walk in the Woods is a really good story that you tell your friends, because it tells a lot about who you are, while being simple and unadorned with fluff."

Dirty Pitch: You know how you said you always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail someday… well Robert Redford and Nick Nolte do it, but as grumpy old men in-between absolutely gorgeous scenery.

I wouldn’t even bother reading the rest of this review, if you meet any of the following criteria:

  • Hate laughing.
  • Hate beautiful cinematic landscapes of nature.
  • Hate old people.
  • Are currently hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Otherwise, here’s the thing, this is a gorgeous film and you should rush to see it.

Nick Nolte’s an old friend of Robert Redford’s, and if you can believe that, then you can believe that A Walk in the Woods is more than just a buddy film about two old fogies hiking some of the most difficult terrains in this US. What you still might not believe, is that somehow these two make up a great team.

Despite the conventional classic character pairing of serious guy and silly guy, skinny guy and fat guy, successful guy and life-wasted guy, all that’s surface to the true meaning. The great value of this film is the message about cherishing relationships, not only amongst the people we know, but with the world we live. It’s a theme packed into nearly every scene, and it’s rarely subtle, but never gets old.

The crux of this team on screen is built upon a notion that Nolte represents the antithesis of Redford in just about every way, except that Nolte isn’t nearly as vulnerable as Redford, even though he’s the one who’s overweight, alone, and battling alcoholism. Redford is the lost protagonist, altruistic and uncertain of who he is. Both seek to challenge each other as they do the trail, despite their tender age, but the trail is the ultimate character in this team. As corny as it reads, the trail is the best character!

When it’s not serving up cliche plot points like bears, dangerous cliffs, and extreme weather, it’s engulfing you with majestic landscapes that we all know to be challenging, awe-inspiring, and almost inconceivably achievable, but none of that should at all be surprising, because even though it feels that way, without being there… how quickly we forget.

It’s a terrible cliche to call the setting another character, but that’s why this isn’t just a buddy film. This isn’t just a comedy, and it’s certainly not just a nature-story. A Walk in the Woods is a really good story that you tell your friends, because it tells a lot about who you are, while being simple and unadorned with fluff. I’m telling you friends, through this review, and I’m hoping that says a lot about me.

It also has cameos from Kristen Schaal and Nick Offerman, which is always fun so go see it!

Thanks for reading!

-Wes

 

Reviewed by: on September 24, 2015