The Road to Galena
Movies likeThe Road to Galenapresent a challenge to take critics . The geezerhood of Rotten Tomatoes has ossified the notion that reviews are either plus or negative , but there are many moving-picture show that live in a space between enthusiastic secondment and scalding dismissal , where the customary adjectives hardly seem appropriate . They are an aroused doldrums of sorts , draw out no chemical reaction , whether for or against , that is substantial enough to encourage more than a pass conversation . How , then , is one supposed to give legible , even hive off prose about their catch experience ? Without simplifying the exercise by let the assessment communicated here to swing artificially in either direction , the just choice seems to acceptThe Road to Galenaas a safe story safely enjoin , and play up a few way the motion picture could ’ve made more of what it had to do work with .
From writer - theatre director Joe Hall , The Road to Galenacovers decennium in the life of Cole Baird ( Ben Winchell ) , who finds himself on a lifepath he never wanted without knowing how to take himself off it . Though he dreams of owning a farm in his hometown of Galena , Maryland , marrying his high school smasher Elle ( Aimee Teegarden ) and working alongside his childhood best friend Jack ( Will Brittain ) , his father John ( Jay O. Sanders ) wants him to dream big . A brief preliminary that reveals him as a lawyer subsequently in life story , living in Washington D.C. and tie to a different charwoman ( Alisa Allapach ) , promise many failed attempts to come back to that dream . Is he doom to live a life-time of nominal success that will never genuinely satisfy him ? Or can he regain his way back to Galena before it ’s too late ?
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Those questions are n’t the most interesting to enquire about this chronicle . Even ignoring the fact that most readers can probably project the ending , telling the interview in the opening minute that Cole goes at least 20 old age down that life itinerary drain the tension from any of his plans to leave it . The Road to Galenacould alternatively have askedwhysomeone would spend so long building a life they do n’t require when the titular way plate is always so clear . But the reason for this are more presented than explored : societal insistence , first from his father , then from his career - ram married woman . But is that really all it takes ? As much as he woolgather of land , Cole seems to be a lawyer extraordinaire , succeeding with minimum sign of strain — could he secretly care the feeling of being so proficient at something ? There are some very overt story collimate back in Galena involving his acquaintance Jack that might make Cole question whether his dream aliveness is so dreamy after all . The fact that he never considers this line of thinking , when it will undoubtedly be all some TV audience call back about , is , honestly , idiotic .
This want of thematic and narrative ambitiousness translates to the characters , most of whom are fairly underwritten . The most of import affair about each of them is their position in Cole ’s life , to the extent that , when they act against his expectations of them , it ’s more a signboard of his mistaking than their having any national life of their own . This is a shame , because Cole , in spite of his so sharply " main character"-ing his way through life , is difficult to worry much about . A scene in which Jack approaches John , who is the town ’s banker , for a loan to grease one’s palms dimension finish up one of the movie ’s most interesting , just because they get to have a material interaction without the protagonist dictating their behavior .
And yet , even withThe Road to Galenafollowing its most predictable way , it ’s not wholly obnoxious . There ’s a sure ease in being carried through this tale , with each turn coming exactly where the audience require it to that ’s consanguine to ascertain an episode of a subpar sitcom . amply engaging with the photographic film , as one might be push to do in a theatrical place setting , will prove unrewarding — both intellectually and emotionally . But it ’s the kind of movie that ’s perfect for streaming while doing chores , or to turn on after a long mean solar day of work with the intention of putting one ’s brain on understudy . In those setting , where safe storytelling is sometimes all that ’s expect , people could do a whole lot bad than this photographic film .
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The Road to Galenareleases both in theaters and on digital Friday , July 8 . The moving picture is 110 minute of arc long and is rated R for spoken communication .
The Road to Galena is a dramatic event directed by Joe Hall , which follows the story of Cole Baird , a successful attorney who cope with his life history choices and the sacrifice made along the path . The film explores themes of aspiration , forfeit , and the hunt for personal fulfillment , star Ben Winchell as Cole Baird and Aimee Teegarden as Elle .
Ben Winchell in The Road to Galena
Will Brittain and Jay O. Sanders in The Road to Galena
