Heart Beat

Considering all the comment about the "beat generation" US literary movement of the 1950's and 60's, it seems there's not much film examination of it. The only book of Kerouac's to be filmed so far was the confusing "The Subterraneans" in 1960, not an obvious candidate. This 1980 film is the only biopic of which I'm aware that follows the Kerouac/Neal & Carolyn Cassady saga. It's spotty and doesn't communicate a great deal of what "beat" literature claimed to have accomplished (if indeed anything WAS accomplished), but Nolte was born to play the role of Neal C., which performance alone seals the value of this film. The Cassadys were muses that helped generate Kerouac's impetus to write, and the rest is history.

This was a find with On-Demand. The price was right (free)and I could watch it without leaving the house, so nothing was lost except time. That being said, this is probably a film that fans of Nick Nolte, Ray Sharkey and Beat Generation culture would enjoy. Nolte is in the waning days of his "pretty boy" phase, but he gives a gritty performance. Ray Sharkey's maniacal turn as Ira makes you wonder "what-if" all the more. The Beat Generation backdrop seems a little too clean at times, but it gets a fair shot. However, Sissy Spacek is handed a character that she can't do anything with. This comes from the overly broad brush strokes that the filmmaker uses, which leaves little room for Spacek to work.

All in all, not a bad film; just not one for the ages.

Carolyn Cassady (Sissy Spacek) recounts her time with Neal Cassady (Nick Nolte) and Jack Kerouac (John Heard). Kerouac is struggling to write his iconic works and struggling to get anyone to publish them. Everybody likes Neal. Ira is supposed to be Allen Ginsberg. This is the Beat Generation. I do like that they are stealing food and gas and the like. The movie seems reluctant to go too hard. It is based on Carolyn Cassady's autobiography. Despite these great actors, there is barely any heat in these performances. There is really no heat in this couple. Nick Nolte only lets loose a few times in fighting against suburbia. Sissy Spacek is a wet blanket by comparison. It's a slow grind for the most part. This is for Beat Generation fans.

Potentially fascinating topic, three of my all time favorite actors at their hottest, and complete bore. John Heard, who plays Jack Kerouac, tells a story about how amazing a young Jessica Lange was when she auditioned for this and Bynum dismissed her as 'just a model'. He brings the fine judgment to every project(see or rather, don't see 'Inserts' or 'The Razor's Edge'). I will give the most some credit for giving the Carolyn Cassidy unexpected agency in what easily could be a highbrow bromance. Sissy Spacek is very good and would win her Oscar for 'Coal Miner's Daughter' which came out the same year. See 'Chilly Scenes of Winter' or 'Cutter's Way' to see how wasted Heard is in this.

Not exactly a biopic but rather a potpourri loosely based on Carloyn Cassady's memoires and Jack Kerouac's autobiographical novel 'OnThe Road'. A tad too neat and tidy for me, and I did miss many of the very specific jazzy references and descriptions in the book as soundtrack. And that's not pardonable! On the other hand, they added some soundtrack which was not fitting at all. Shame. Usually a great actress, Sissy Spacek was less impressive as a figure of the so called 'Beat Generation'. She seemed to me too bourgeois and not quite in character. I haven't read Caroly's memories though and in Jack's book she's one of the many important but rather peripheral characters.

However! having had cast Nick Nolte as Neal Cassady and John Heard as Jack Kerouac was a bullseye in my opinion. I imagined the two lads exactly this way whilst reading the book. Great interpretations and chemistry. Gorgeous cinematography by Laszlo Kovacs, but maybe I'm being too patriotic :-) Despite all my criticism, I definitely recommend it to those who read the book, you'll pick up the references with a smile.