REVIEW: 'The Way'

Drama, written and directed by actor Emilio Estevez, about a group of people walking The Camino – a Christian pilgrimage route to Galicia, Spain. Stars Estevez's dad, Martin Sheen (The Departed). Click here for movie times.

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Emilio Estevez’s career as a writer-director has yet to bloom into something worth noticing, with his previous film Bobby getting a general “yeah… nah…” response. Teaming up with his father Martin Sheen, Estevez seems to have found some stable ground with this road movie, effectively showing how a simple journey, more specifically the El Camino de Santiago, can open the way to inner enlightenment.

Sheen’s performance is superbly subdued, bringing real depth to a character that was maybe a tad underwritten. Along the way, he runs into a number of side characters ranging from interesting to annoyingly ostentatious. We warm to them eventually, largely thanks to the interaction between one another.

A big drawback is the film’s lack of conflict. Any quarrel between the travellers hardly ever goes beyond a mild irritation while Sheen’s character, Tom, is so closed up for most of the walk that we barely get to witness his inner turmoil. The one scene where he does rip into his companions provides some remedy for this.

The film is also a little longer than it needs to be, suffering from some noticeable pacing dips in the middle. Despite this, The Way is a serene experience that prefers to take you by the hand rather than drag you by the foot.

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