Don’t Worry He Won't Get Far on Foot
classified 15Please note: This was screened in Nov 2018
Joaquin Phoenix plays quadriplegic John Callahan – one of the 20th century’s most vital and taboo-busting cartoonists - in Gus Van Sant’s blissfully irreverent and defiantly sincere love letter to the strength of the human spirit.
After Portland slacker John Callahan (Phoenix) at the age of 21 nearly loses his life in a car accident, the last thing he intends to do is give up drinking. Alcoholic since his early teens, coming to terms with life as a quadriplegic does nothing to shake him out of his drunken stupor. But when he’s encouraged into attending AA by his girlfriend Annu (Rooney Mara), he finds in group leader Donnie (an unrecognisable Jonah Hill) an unlikely inspiration. Discovering he has a gift for drawing edgy, politically incorrect newspaper cartoons that develop an international following, John finds himself granted a new lease of life.
Based on Callahan’s own memoirs, brought to life through Joaquin Pheonix's terrific performance, this frank account of addiction and recovery is a tender, melancholy and hope-filled portrait of man who found the will to live through his art, despite life’s limitations.