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Undescribable Perfection

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

As 'Road to Nowhere' begins, pre-production is underway on a movie project about a notorious murder case involving an absconded embezzler, faked accidents and substitute corpses. The director is seeking a lead actress to play the crime's femme fatale - and his search soon unearths an uncanny double of the villainous vamp, whose only previous credit is an 'exploitation' movie. Coincidentally her character is called Velma - which also happens to be the name of the duplicitous missing showgirl in Raymond Chandler's 'Farewell, My Lovely'. After two-thirds of the film is wasted on long shots of characters tying their shoelaces, watching nail polish dry and rehearsing inconsequential dialog, the actress embarks on a tepid love affair with the film's director, which results in some unexplained melodramatic discord and a violent conclusion.Although film-within-a-film concepts have been used previously, as in Truffaut's 'Day For Night' and David Lynch's 'Inland Empire', a disciplined director armed with a coherent screenplay should be able to conjure fresh life from the old dog. Unfortunately 'Road To Nowhere' never provides any useful information about the original crime or those involved, nor does it ever clarify various intrigues amongst the film crew. Director Hellman justifies all the heavy-handed movie references and opaque mysteries by claiming he prefers surreal narratives - but his excuse is fraudulent. This isn't surrealism - it's just dull story-telling - or more accurately, no story-telling.

In Monte Hellman's first feature in 21 years, 'Road to Nowhere' (based on a script from Steven Gaydos), the director weaves together three separate story lines including the making of a film, the film that is being made, and the mystery on which the movie that is being made is based. A double suicide in Bryson County, North Carolina involving a local politician and a Cuban refugee ends up costing the state $100 million. Shortly thereafter director Mitchell Haven (Tygh Runyan) is making a film based on the event as reported on Natalie Post's (Dominique Swain) blog. The film production begins to unravel when the director becomes involved with the unknown actress, Laurel Graham (Shannyn Sossamon), stirring up jealousy and in-fighting among the cast and crew. Matters are not helped when the film's regional consultant, and former insurance investigator, Bruno Brotherton (Waylon Payne), begins to suspect the actress Laurel Graham of being involved in the actual scandal. As the movie unfolds, the plot threads become an insular maze of self-reference gloriously leading nowhere.The title, 'Road to Nowhere,' can apply to any number of Hellman's previous works whether in reference to a pass through the Filipino jungle leading to an enemy camp ('Back Door to Hell'), a trail to Kingsley through terrain so barren it looks like a science-fiction landscape rather than the Utah desert ('The Shooting'), or a cross-country race that loses sight of finish line ('Two-Lane Blacktop'). Furthermore, considering the etymological relationship between the words nowhere and utopia, the title can additionally describe the Quixotic quests of the lead characters in 'Cockfighter' and especially 'Iguana.' I'm glad to see that Monte Hellman is directing again and I can't wait to see where this Road to Nowhere takes him next...because just 'cuz you're heading nowhere doesn't mean you can't make some great stops along the way.

Just went to the New York premiere last night..."Road to Nowhere" is artistically designed to be viewed over and over again, as the scenes will piece together like a jigsaw puzzle. Its pace has an addictive nature, much like David Lynch's "Twin Peaks", but conversely, this is perfectly cohesive thematically. It's abstract, dynamically ambitious, yet flawless in its dialogue and divine scripting. This is the best of all of Monte Hellman's films in one, covering all territory and more. Hellman pays strict attention to detail from shot to shot. All of the photography/cinematography is stylish, yet raw and uncut, giving the mood of the film a realistic look under a very experimental screenplay. The story gets complex, a movie within a movie, and sometimes you can't tell which is which as the characters blend, but there's an underlying sense of humor about it all. Scenes go dramatic to funny like you're on the set for the outtakes sometimes, and it's fascinating how the story unfolds like a who-dunnit that is totally unpredictable. Shannyn Sossamon is perfect, and so is the whole ensemble Hellman brings to the screen. Add some great Tom Russell songs and an erratic but beautiful ending, you'll need to see it again and again.Impressed to say the least, "Road to Nowhere" is as much a homage to the classics as it is the future of filmmaking.

If you read the reviews and cinema fan opinions from France, from South America, Italy and Portugal, you'll find there are major critics, novelists and philosophers who've responded not only enthusiastically, but poetically and lyrically about their love for the film. And then there are major filmmakers like Atom Egoyan, who said on stage at the Whistler Film Festival, "'Road to Nowhere' is one of the most extraordinary films I have ever seen." And Olivier Assayas was recently quoted while on his way to be on the Jury in Cannes, " I was moved by the troubling poetry of 'Road to Nowhere'...it reminds one of the physical impact that great cinema can have. 'Road to Nowhere' is like a shot to the heart."And closer to home, Noel Lawrence was also enthusiastic:"A lot of cynics told me ROAD TO NOWHERE couldn't be as good as people said it was. I saw the film last night.. and let the record reflect it is THAT GOOD. While enigmatic as anything Lynch ever shot, its relaxed pacing and subdued direction liberate the film from stylized gimmickry and make its labyrinthine storyline all the more disturbing. ROAD TO NOWHERE will supply grist to the film theory mill for the next half-century." - Noel Lawrence