Film

Jack Kerouac’s counterculture bible finally makes its big-screen debut in this ambitious, long-gestating adaptation. At its center is the iconic hero Sal Paradise, an aspiring New York writer determined to free himself from the constricting normalcy of his everyday life. After the death of his father, he sets off on a cross-country journey with the charming ex-con Dean and the beautiful Marylou, along the way encountering a host of eccentrics inspired by key figures of the Beat Generation. Featuring an extended cameo by Viggo Mortensen as William S. Burroughs, this entrancing road epic gives cinematic life to the restless energy and “bop prose” of one of the 20th century’s most indelible novels.