Modern and confusing, creepy in its languor, ROAD TO NOWHERE is one of the strangest films you'll ever see. Directed by lionized cult director Monte Hellman, who hasn't made a film in twenty-one years, ROAD TO NOWHERE is about put-ons and how that translates in films. The film considers Mitch, the director of a film also called ROAD TO NOWHERE that only exists within Hellman's film. Mitch finds an unknown actress to play the coveted role of the lead. His adaptational film of true events is somewhat high profile, and role is especially so. Thus, when Mitch puts in an unknown (brilliantly played by Shannyn Sossamon), there's a lot for Hellman to work with in terms of identity. A lot of the time in ROAD TO NOWHERE, we're not sure which film we're actually watching, and it's never spelled out. Thus, characters like Sossamon's have a lot of liberties to act in different conflicting manners, none of which are ever very clear. But the way in which people act towards their directors (bosses) or towards other actors (while acting) or in supposedly authentic ways (in romance) is always dubious. Which one are they employing? Hellman's film is masterful. Every scene is, by itself, a perfect composition. But in the scope of the entire film with its jumps in time, dubious characters, and which film you're watching, ROAD TO NOWHERE becomes intricate and complicated. It's one of the most challenging films of 2011, but ultimately, its payoff is worthwhile.
Road to Nowhere: ★★★1/2
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