A Walk in the Woods (2015)

Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Director: Ken Kwapis

Writer: Rick Kerb, Bill Holderman

Cast: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson, Kristen Schaal, Mary Steenburgen, Nick Offerman

Summary: "After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson returns to the U.S., where he decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends." (IMDB)

Map courtesy of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy

I just got done reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson earlier this summer. And I confess, most of the reason I decided to pick it up is because I saw the movie trailer and thought, hey, maybe I should read the book before the movie comes out! My housemate at the time had been trying to get me to read some of Bryson's stuff for a number of years, so I guess this was the year I finally pulled the trigger.

The whole idea of hiking the Appalachian Trail is fascinating to me. I've done my fair share of day-hiking, but I'm not what one would call a "serious" (or even "competent") hiker. Mostly, I'm happy when I can make it from one end of the trail to the other without falling down more than a few times. Still, it's an activity that I enjoy. Until very recently, I lived in Northern Virginia, and my housemates and I would make it a habit of driving down to Shenandoah National Park whenever we could to take advantage of the trails there. And often, those trails would coincide with the Appalachian Trail. So while I'm definitely a casual user, the subject matter was not entirely foreign to me.

Again, I cannot stress the word "casual" enough. Let us not mistake my lack of actual experience for anything other than what it is.

The point is, I like hiking. In the short-term. And I'm continually impressed with the people who can hike and camp long-term (the time it takes to complete the Trail, for instance). Because I can tell you right here, right now: That shit is not for me. I like nature in kind of an abstract way. The concept of nature is great, for sure, and I like it in small doses, but I'm an indoor girl. Sleeping in a tent and cooking over a campfire just doesn't sound fun to me. I like real beds. And air-conditioning. I get tetchy if the WiFi is down for more than an hour. My hat is off to all those who aren't as wimpy as I am, because after a day of being in the woods I'm happy to retire to my couch and my TV.

The funny thing about Bryson's book, though: It makes me want to hike the Trail just like he did.

I don't mean that in a literal sense; I know myself well-enough to know that I'd make it a week (if I'm being generous) before I'd be crying for someone to take me home. No, it's not an endeavor that I would ever realistically be able to do. But it makes me wish I could, you know what I mean? I don't know what I would stand to gain from an experience like that, other than the experience itself, but then, isn't that sort of the point? There's just something really appealing about casting off the bullshit and just taking yourself off into the woods.

This feeling is exactly where the movie succeeded for me, because it gave me that same sense of want that the book did. I know it's been getting some mixed reviews, and many think it didn't do the book justice, and I think that's a fair bit of criticism. But one of the things it did really well was capturing that same desire to just hike, and in doing that I think they captured the heart of Bryson's book.

Full disclosure, but I'm already a bit biased towards liking this movie because I love Robert Redford. For a variety of reasons. All of which have to do with his acting.

Yes sir, every single one of them.

A Walk in the Woods is a deceptively difficult book to translate into film. The major thing that makes it such a dynamic read is Bryson's voice as the narrator, in turns funny, sarcastic, reverent, and altogether real. I didn't realize until I saw the movie how a lot of the book is Bryson's voice, rather than action. It's sort of an interesting conundrum, because on the surface it looks like it's going to be easy, until you actually get right down to it. I think they did a great job picking the major moments in the book to focus on:

• Their encounter with Mary-Ellen ("Big mistake!") 
• Katz's narrow miss with a local woman's irate husband
• The visit from the bears (though to be fair, in the book it's more of a visit from potential bears)
• Their stay in the bunkhouse - though for whatever reason, that passage grossed me out so much in the book that if they'd omitted it, well, that would be okay too

 In between these scenes, they filled it in with additional dialogue between the two guys, or sweeping shots of them hiking the Trail (because when you're dedicating a movie to the Appalachian Trail, you had damn well better include some overhead panoramic shots of the Appalachian Trail). That's the smartest way they could have written it; as I said, without Bryson's narration, it would feel kind of flat, so it's wise to extract the most memorable scenes from the book and craft the rest of the screenplay around those. It does lead to some unnecessary moments, like the scene with Katz emptying the liquor bottle. A little saccharine for my tastes, if I'm being honest, and not 100% in keeping with the book itself. Not a major transgression, to be sure, but it does give the film a heavy-handed feel that only continued into the climax when they end up stranded on the cliff. I had the same reaction to the argument in the rental car parking lot; I'm a big fan of show-don't-tell when it comes to film-making, and the combination of those three scenes (and the fact that they all happen so close together) did grate on my nerves.

A lot has been made of the fact that they aged Bryson and Katz up to have Robert Redford and Nick Nolte play them. I'm actually okay with it, but before I talk anymore about that I'm going to share a bit of trivia I learned from the good people at IMDB:

"The book 'A Walk in the Woods' was optioned in 1998 as a project to team Robert Redford and Paul Newman together for the third time ('Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,' 'The Sting'). However, years of hurdles getting the film made and Newman's declining health before his death in 2008 ended the potential Redford and Newman reunion. Newman was intended for the role Nick Nolte plays in the film."

Anyone who's friends with me on Facebook has learned this already, but think, dear friends, think of what we could have had! That scene on the cliff would have taken on a special kind of significance, wouldn't it? Maybe not, but it would certainly give me an extra chuckle. Plus, if they'd made the movie back in 1998, they'd be closer to the original ages in the book - still older, sure, but closer.

All that having been said, it doesn't bother me that they made the two men older for the movie. It just doesn't. I don't know why, I just find it easy to accept without kicking up a fuss. It's a cosmetic change, when you get right down to it; it hardly made a difference to the story in the end. Plus, Nick Nolte is kind of perfect for Katz, so why pass that up? Beyond that, when I was reading the book, it was easy for me to read Bill Bryson's words in Robert Redford's voice. He's kind of a natural fit, so what the hell. Go for it.

Was A Walk in the Woods a successful adaptation? For the most part, yes, I think it was. Certainly not perfect, but when do they ever get it 100% right? If I like more than I hate, then hey, I'm happy with that. That's sort of a lackluster review, isn't it? Sorry. I guess it's not the type of movie where I walked out feeling really passionate and excited. Instead, it made me feel kind of thoughtful. It gave me a sense of nostalgia, and a big part of that is because I watched it on my way out of the state I'd called home for seven years, and the place where I'd really discovered an enjoyment for hiking. It touched on something emotional that I can't quite put my finger on. For that reason, too, maybe I'm a little bit biased. I'm not sorry for that. It brought back those quiet moments in the woods, where I found myself temporarily alone, just me and the Shenandoah trail. It brought back the feeling of closing my eyes and just letting myself breathe.

Maybe that's why we hike in the first place. Maybe that's the point, in the end.