Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot (2018)

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

We all recover differently, either from addiction or an accident. John Callahan was a man who did both, struggling to recover from his alcoholism after his vices led to him being in a car crash that made him lose the use of his legs. Gleaming through his depression was his humor, though dark and sometimes offensive, it kept communication open and a future for him to consider worth living. Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot is a biopic about his journey to better himself and tries to, albeit clunkily, tap into his mindset.

Giving the lead role his all is Joaquin Phoenix, providing yet another strong performance of a complicated, flawed and terrified man. He makes John Callahan out to be a man with a fascination in life’s many vices and oddities, portraying his pre-accident days as a giddy dabbler of booze and women to mask his past. While immobile from the accident, he’s quiet, whispering, trembling, and angry at the world, speaking of bargaining with both God and the devil, whoever will let him walk again. When he eventually starts the drawings for the newspaper that he would become better known for, there’s a new bite in his attitude, eventually reviving that sniping spirit.

Phoenix’s performance eclipses the film but there are a handful of strong supporting actors. Jonah Hill does a fantastic job playing AA leader Donnie Green, drowning in the philosophies behind recovery and also pushing it aside in his aimless path to better himself past his rich lineage. Rooney Mara plays Annu with chipper warmth as the woman who helps John get through his recovery and then some. Jack Black perfectly plays the party animal Dexter that is just as wild as John during his happier days and a complete when he eventually catches up with him later, regretting being the one that crashed the car.

While there’s both a bite and an emotional take to John’s complicated journey to keep on living, there’s a scattershot approach that is more messy than meaningful. Where the film shines is during John’s many conversations with his recovery group, where men and women with crippling diseases and sordid histories converge and conflict, not holding anything back, no matter how mean or controversial their utterances may be. What do they care? Most of them are dying or mentally damaged; may as well let loose than to keep themselves soft with warmth. But when addressing John’s lost mother since birth, the film goes into personal places and visions that feel more distant than impactful. The scene where John comes to terms with his drinking after seeing a vision of his mother in the wall doesn’t quite pack the same emotional and spiritual weight intended.

Gus Van Sant does give this biopic a thoughtfulness and patience in trying to better understand John and the road that led to him being a cartoonist with the most controversial of humor. And yet it always feels just a tad held back, either in how far we delve into John’s life or how much the movie is willing to venture down paths less explored. I can’t fault Sant for choosing the more interesting moments with plenty of great exchanges for the top-notch talent to strut their stuff but there’s a frustrating nature for never being just a hair better in its blur of non-linear events and emotional visions. For a film meant to probe Callahan’s life and his mind, I can’t help but feel we’re really only skimming the surface for the best parts rather than the whole dish for the juicer bits.