Voyageur malgré lui

This is a faithful adaption of a brilliant novel. I have seen this movie a dozen times and it gets better with each viewing. It is subtle, yes, and that probably means it is not for everyone. Subtle, however, is not synonymous with boring, as unfortunately many people accustomed to a non-stop barrage of sense-dulling special effects and violence have come to believe. This film is as far from boring as it gets.

What I walked away from this story with is a reaffirmation of a force bigger than ourselves that takes our lives in a new direction -- one that we often consciously choose to reject. Macon Leary, as superbly played by William Hurt, has been sleepwalking through life for years. His profession says it all: he writes books for business travelers who have to visit exotic places but want to feel as if they never left home. Thus, the title, "The Accidental Tourist".

He is separated from his beloved wife, Sarah, played very well by Kathleen Turner. She could no longer live in with the waking death their life had become since the senseless murder of their young son years before. But he still wants nothing more than for her to return and resume that life. Even after a quirky dog-trainer played by Geena Davis (in her well-deserved Oscar-winning performance) enters his life and his heart he believes his future can only be with Sarah.

I don't want to give away the entire story, but I will say that the entire supporting cast, Macon's family (Ed Begley, Jr., Amy Wright, David Ogden Stiers) his editor (Bill Pullman), and a scene-stealing Welsh Corgi contribute richly and completely to the overall power of this story.

Some of the best dialogue I've ever heard on relationships, why they work, and why what we want so dearly to work just doesn't work anymore, is in this film. "Don't be lulled by a false sense of security". This powerful line, is what this film is all about, and it is placed perfectly, as all the memorable lines are. Give it a chance and an open mind because this film is the real deal. In my estimation, "The Accidental Tourist" is American cinema at it's best.

The Accidental Tourist is a quiet and contemplative film that adults rarely have an opportunity to experience from an American perspective. Macon (William Hurt) is a Baltimore travel writer whose son was accidentally killed in a robbery. His wife Sarah (Kathleen Turner) leaves him when Macon withdraws to a somnambulist response, a favored routine to life that is Macon's family way. Macon's brothers (Ed Begley, Jr. and David Ogden-Stiers) are 40+ year old bachelors and living with their spinster sister, Rose in the family home. With the addition of the now separated Macon, the siblings are reduced to an eccentric routines of alphabetizing the pantry and discussions of who could be calling while the phone rings.

Into Macon's sedentary and uneventful pattern comes Muriel Pritcherd (Geena Davis), a dog trainer who takes hold of Edward, Macon's misbehaving Corgi, and inserts herself into their lives. A latent Annie Hall dresser whose mismatched clothing and late 50s car screams woman of a certain age with free spirit tendencies, Muriel gives new options to Macon through her unpredictable character and a small son, who takes immediately to him. Edward the dog even manages to behave and the little family becomes a new and invigorating experience for Macon, whose own relatives have long ago lost any sense of independence or initiative. With the unheard of occasion of the spinster sister's wedding to Macon's publisher, (Bill Pullman), Macon and Sarah are reunited and Muriel is dropped for the familiar situation of a convenient reconciliation. When Macon's work takes him to Paris, Muriel accidentally finds they are on the same plane and hotel. Although he is reluctant to interact with her, Muriel is storming the walls of resistance as before. Macon's situation is made more complicated with the appearance of his ex-wife, whose presence is both familiar and upsetting to a Macon-Muriel-Sarah menage.

How this trio resolves the situation is filled with wonderful and literate conversations between characters which ring true to the adult situation of marriage and changing lives, goals, and the unexpected. For an American film this kind of complex story telling is almost a lost art in today's car chase, adolescent fart humour, and situational absurdities. However, with long silences and occasional comic relief from the dog, the film is both contemplative and entertaining as it unfolds with bittersweet truisms.

From The Accidental Tourist to Accidental Hero a few years later, both underrated films, Geena Davis plays an almost cameo part to the lead of William Hurt, a travel writer whose marriage falls apart due to the death of their son in a robbery. The script is carefully written - it is difficult to write about loss and divorce in a sympathetic but entertaining way. Geena Davis steals the show though even if her efforts are at the start in vain. With Kathleen Turner as well, the cast is very strong and as an ensemble piece is well worth watching if on, but it is a small drama that could well have been a TV movie and whilst I appreciated watching it is not one I would go out of my way to recommend to others.

William Hurt gives one of the most intensely interior performances on record. He is indescribable moving. His emotional paralysis becomes the palpitating centre of this gorgeous Lawrence Kasdan film. I saw the film, when it first come out, on a big huge screen that allowed me the strangely unique privilege of entering a man's soul. In the surface, nothing. Less than nothing, William Hurt floats through his daily existence, surrounded by his quirky family, his wounded, distant ex wife but first and foremost, his impenetrable loneliness. The character never utters a word who could confirm that, and yet is there, ever present, if you look deep, deep into his eyes. The scene in which he almost lets himself go in Geena Davis's arms is as cathartic as anything I've ever seen in any modern American movie. A couple of days ago I saw it again on a normal TV screen and all of the above wasn't there. Still a gorgeous film, a funny, melancholic romantic comedy but what about the interior masterpiece of William Hurt's performance? Gone. Did I imagine the whole emotional ride? Possible but unlikely. I took my VHS copy to a friend's house with a phenomenal home entertainment centre and a massive screen. William Hurt's performance was back. His is a performance conceived and designed for the big screen. One hundred per cent cinematic. The TV screen is far too small to allow us into a man's soul. If you haven't seen it I urge you to see it but in a big screen, the biggest you can find. Now let me leave you with this little tip. Look into William Hurt's eyes when he is in the taxi in Paris and sees the boy, who reminds him of his own son, walking down the street. It is the best performances by an actor in one of my favourite film moments of all time.

At last,the dvd has arrived and it is a pure joy from start to finish.I was 21 when I first saw this film at the theatre and I knew it was good then,but now,a little older and wiser,I consider it a masterpiece.William Hurt's performance is mesmerising and Geena Davis is at her best.The dvd has 14 deleted scenes and I do feel sorry for Kathleen Turner,as some of her best work is on the cutting room floor.If you enjoy a real actor's movie,then this will not disappoint.The last 5 minutes,with marvellous John Williams underscoring,is sheer perfection.How this did not win best picture I shall never know.