A Walk in the Woods (2015)
Certified: 102 minutes
Directed by: Ken Kwapis
Starring: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Kristen Schaal, Nick Offerman, Mary Steenburgen, Emma Thompson
KRS Releasing Ltd

Robert Redford stars as Bill Bryson, a writer who is intent on discovering his true self and getting in touch with the world around him.

After two decades living in the UK he returns to the US and decides that the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike along the Appalachian Trail which starts in Georgia and leads all the way to Maine. Bryson’s wife Catherine (Emma Thompson) understands his need to do this but insists he should not do it alone.

He thus finds a companion, an old acquaintance named Stephen Katz (Nick Nolte), who is an ex-alcoholic and as politically incorrect as can be. Soon the two are off on their journey during which they get to meet people, form rapports and build relationships. The two are total opposites, making their screen presence utterly enjoyable.

Along their trip, they interact with other hikers, such as Mary Ellen (Kristen Schaal), who is a bit weird, and a hotel owner (a funny Mary Steenburgen), who brings unusual complications.

This adaptation of the Bryson book of the same name is as much about the hike undertaken as it is about the two main characters.

In the spirit of Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson’s in The Bucket List (2007), Redford and Nolte feed off each other’s attitudes and screen personas to deliver a double combo that is fun, energetic and, most of all, funny. Their onscreen partnership is superlative.

Director Ken Kwapis builds the movie around the central duo of Hollywood veterans and the result is a seemingly effortless cinematic endeavour that is very elegiac in its approach.

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