The Road Within

It sucks when you're trying to get a feel for a film and people associated with it post fake positive reviews. This director was clearly incompetent: the pacing is sluggish and she couldn't pull believable performances out of the cast. Everyone was wayyy over the top. Awful script is riddled with lame dialogue. Unfortunately you can't turn a pig into a lion.

There's no doubt that the script writing was done poorly. There are 3 main character and only one was dynamic. Many missed opportunities to shed light on the other two illnesses. I believe that the actors themselves did well with what was given to them. I'm not sure if the Tourette's was played accurately but I'm well aware that the OCD and anorexia well portrayed very well. Though the poor script diminishes the well-done portrayal because the characters have no story. They aren't written to throughly talk about their illnesses and it's affect on their lives. The road trip cliches were also added in but some were made necessary for the ending. I believe this had potential to be greater then what it was but not as bad as most are making it out to be.

'THE ROAD WITHIN': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A remake of the 2010 German drama flick 'VINCENT WANTS TO SEA'; about a teen with Tourette Syndrome, who befriends two other patients (one with OCD and one with anorexia) at the behavioral facility his dad enrolls him in. They steal their doctor's car and embark on a road trip together, to the coast. The film was written and directed by Gren Wells (in her directorial debut) and it stars Robert Sheehan, Dev Patel, Zoe Kravitz, Kyra Sedgwick and Robert Patrick. I enjoyed it immensely.

Vincent (Sheehan) is a teenager, that's suffered from Tourette's disorder; most of his life. His mother, who he was very close to, recently passed away; and his father (Patrick), who he's long resented, wants to enroll him in a special clinic. Once there, he's roomed with Alex (Patel); a young British man, with obsessive compulsive disorder. Alex is furious that he has to share his room with another person, and he immediately takes a disliking to Vincent. Vincent also meets Marie (Kravitz), at the facility, who he's immediately attracted to. Marie has a severe eating disorder, and pretty much won't eat anything. After Marie and Vincent get into trouble, with their doctor (Sedgwick), they decide to steal her car and head to the coast; so Vincent can spread his mother's ashes there. When Alex catches them in the act, they kidnap him and take him along with them.

The movie is equally funny and emotional. It's not overly heartbreaking though; as it has a lot of optimism, and a great deal of compassion (for it's characters). What I really love about the film, though, are the performances; Sheehan, Patel and Kravitz are all amazing in it (and Patrick and Sedgwick aren't bad either). I found the three lead characters to be all very likable, and relatable too, despite their flaws. It's a very touching and well made movie, especially for outsiders and misfits (like most great films are).

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I saw Dev Patel was in this and willing to take a shot at this straight-to-video title. What a mistake. The portrayal of someone with Tourette's syndrome was portrayed more like a caricature rather than a character. The other actors were also bafoonish. Really terrible direction, especially considering there were several very capable actors in this. What a waste. The writing was excrutiatingly dull and derivitive. Don't waste your time on this one, there are so many better made, more entertaining comedy/drama's out there.

A very good drama-comedy which mixes the 2 elements of drama and comedy perfectly, which in many cases is not the case

Perfectly cast as well Robert Sheehan is excellent in the lead, you truly believe that he has Tourette's syndrome and Zoe Kravitz just keeps on proving with every movie she makes that she is a force to be reckoned with and I wouldn't be surprised at all if she got a Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress for this

I've never seen Robert Patrick better and feel more real than in this one

A must see if you like independent dramedies