His motivation for the hike was to reacquaint himself with America after living in Britain for many years.
A WALK IN THE WOODS
Director: Ken Kwapis
Cast: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson, Mary Steenburgen, Nick Offerman, Kristen Schaal, R. Keith Harris
Rating: (M)
4 stars (out of 5)
The mills of the industry grind slowly, and the book has taken 10 years from being optioned to being made into a film.
In that time Bryson got older and moved back to Britain, forcing the script to be adjusted to accommodate Robert Redford in the lead role.
In the film, Bryson's motivation to walk the trail is to defy old age (Redford is 79, after all), and he has, of course, stayed in America.
A Walk in the Woods (Rialto and Metro) actually works much better than it has any right to. Bryson and his companion Stephen Katz (Nick Nolte) plodded the trail meeting various oddballs along the way and getting on each other's nerves.
The more cinematic of their adventures have been added, but the oddballs have also made it to the screen.
A third of the way in I was getting tetchy: watching two old fools walking nicely manicured forest trail is not overly riveting.
Then a cinematic miracle happened: Nick Nolte breathed life into the reprehensible Stephen Katz, bringing the movie to life.
As Nolte peeled back the layers of the character, I stopped being irritated by two men who should know better and just enjoyed watching two old friends baring their souls to each other and both coming out a little bit better for the experience.
By Christine Powley.
