January 11, 2024
FILM: HE WENT THAT WAY
DIRECTED BY: JEFFREY DARLING
STARRING: JACOB ELORDI, ZACHARY QUINTO, PATRICK J. ADAMS
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
The “it” actor of the moment is Jacob Elordi who has gone from a supporting role on Max’s Euphoria to playing Elvis in Priscilla and the object of affection for Barry Keoghan in Saltburn. He’s receiving the kind of attention that draws comparisons to James Dean, early Marlon Brando, and Paul Newman. Is he that good though? Well, he’s been great in each of the aforementioned roles. Now comes He Went That Way, which played at the Tribeca Film Festival this past spring and is getting a limited theatrical run before its video on demand release. The character is unhinged and over the top and Elordi plays these qualities for all they’re worth.
The story is based on Conrad Hilberry’s non-fiction book Luke Karamazov. Elordi plays Bobby, a serial killer that Zachary Quinto’s character Jim picks up while driving from Death Valley to Chicago. Of course, Jim doesn’t know anything about Bobby as he is in the midst of transporting his chimpanzee Spanky that he made famous on television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show. When he first sees Bobby, he appears to be attracted to him even though he has a wife at home. Whether this was intentional or not might be debatable but the casting of gay actor Quinto and his immediate interest in picking up the handsome young Bobby can’t be considered a coincidence. Bobby even questions whether Jim is queer or not. What they develop is a strange friendship that might venture into “bromance” territory. Perhaps though they are simply using each other for their own personal and practical needs.
This is basically a two-character study. Jim is initially portrayed as buttoned-up, neat, almost “old-man” like without a hair out of place. At one point another character suggests he “smells like flowers” which again suggests the character is not a “true man.” Quinto plays the character in a very controlled manner. He even hints that there might be more to him than just the good guy trying to transport a monkey and serial killer across the country. He might have his own dark side.
This brings us back to Elordi as Bobby. The character is clearly trouble and has a punk-like attitude that suggests the aforementioned Brando and Dean. The film is set in 1963-64 when both actors had only a decade earlier been heralded as two of the greats from the Method school of acting. Elordi is in constant motion during most of the film. He’s highly animated and full of tics and overly conscious body movements. In this regard, I’d say Elordi overdoes it at times and could have used a bit more direction to go easier on the character’s externals. (The director, Jeffrey Darling, sadly died in a surfing accident just after principle photography was completed on the film in 2022.) This isn’t to say he isn’t fascinating to watch he’s just doing too much compared to the other recent roles he’s played.
While mostly shot in Southern California, the cinematography is quite good emphasizing the vast open spaces where both characters find themselves dealing with their own wide moral compasses. The soundtrack is filled with songs from the era that also evoke the rebelliousness and questioning of traditional values so prevalent in the 1960s.
Generally though the film is a bit unsettling as we never know exactly how these two characters will end up and if they will make it together on their journey. There’s a lot more we could have learned about what rests inside both of their heads and why this friendship developed in the manner that it does. Regardless, it is a somewhat compelling road movie that many viewers will appreciate for its various twists and turns.
He Went That Way is currently playing in limited theatrical release before it begins streaming on VOD tomorrow.
FILM: HE WENT THAT WAY
DIRECTED BY: JEFFREY DARLING
STARRING: JACOB ELORDI, ZACHARY QUINTO, PATRICK J. ADAMS
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
The “it” actor of the moment is Jacob Elordi who has gone from a supporting role on Max’s Euphoria to playing Elvis in Priscilla and the object of affection for Barry Keoghan in Saltburn. He’s receiving the kind of attention that draws comparisons to James Dean, early Marlon Brando, and Paul Newman. Is he that good though? Well, he’s been great in each of the aforementioned roles. Now comes He Went That Way, which played at the Tribeca Film Festival this past spring and is getting a limited theatrical run before its video on demand release. The character is unhinged and over the top and Elordi plays these qualities for all they’re worth.
The story is based on Conrad Hilberry’s non-fiction book Luke Karamazov. Elordi plays Bobby, a serial killer that Zachary Quinto’s character Jim picks up while driving from Death Valley to Chicago. Of course, Jim doesn’t know anything about Bobby as he is in the midst of transporting his chimpanzee Spanky that he made famous on television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show. When he first sees Bobby, he appears to be attracted to him even though he has a wife at home. Whether this was intentional or not might be debatable but the casting of gay actor Quinto and his immediate interest in picking up the handsome young Bobby can’t be considered a coincidence. Bobby even questions whether Jim is queer or not. What they develop is a strange friendship that might venture into “bromance” territory. Perhaps though they are simply using each other for their own personal and practical needs.
This is basically a two-character study. Jim is initially portrayed as buttoned-up, neat, almost “old-man” like without a hair out of place. At one point another character suggests he “smells like flowers” which again suggests the character is not a “true man.” Quinto plays the character in a very controlled manner. He even hints that there might be more to him than just the good guy trying to transport a monkey and serial killer across the country. He might have his own dark side.
This brings us back to Elordi as Bobby. The character is clearly trouble and has a punk-like attitude that suggests the aforementioned Brando and Dean. The film is set in 1963-64 when both actors had only a decade earlier been heralded as two of the greats from the Method school of acting. Elordi is in constant motion during most of the film. He’s highly animated and full of tics and overly conscious body movements. In this regard, I’d say Elordi overdoes it at times and could have used a bit more direction to go easier on the character’s externals. (The director, Jeffrey Darling, sadly died in a surfing accident just after principle photography was completed on the film in 2022.) This isn’t to say he isn’t fascinating to watch he’s just doing too much compared to the other recent roles he’s played.
While mostly shot in Southern California, the cinematography is quite good emphasizing the vast open spaces where both characters find themselves dealing with their own wide moral compasses. The soundtrack is filled with songs from the era that also evoke the rebelliousness and questioning of traditional values so prevalent in the 1960s.
Generally though the film is a bit unsettling as we never know exactly how these two characters will end up and if they will make it together on their journey. There’s a lot more we could have learned about what rests inside both of their heads and why this friendship developed in the manner that it does. Regardless, it is a somewhat compelling road movie that many viewers will appreciate for its various twists and turns.
He Went That Way is currently playing in limited theatrical release before it begins streaming on VOD tomorrow.