Were it not for a sentimental resolution that explains way more about Cal than does the movie or the character any good, Freundlich's World Traveler might have been one of the more daring and surprising American movies of the year.
World Traveler (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:66
Fresh:23
Rotten:43
Average Rating:4.9/10
Consensus: Heavy symbolism and a repulsive lead character make World Traveler seems like a long trip.
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Cal (Billy Crudup), is a man in his mid thirties, living in New York City, with a loving wife and a baby. But when he becomes frustrated with his family life, he follows his most immediate... Cal (Billy Crudup), is a man in his mid thirties, living in New York City, with a loving wife and a baby. But when he becomes frustrated with his family life, he follows his most immediate instincts--he gets in the car, and simply drives away. This straightforward yet shocking decision is the event that begins WORLD TRAVELER, in which Cal comes under the microscope of psychological observation. He embarks on a road trip that leads him down strange paths and introduces him to an eclectic cast of world-weary characters. Dulcie (Julianne Moore) is one of these people, an emotionally wounded woman who is desperately searching for her lost son. As Cal scans through memories of his family life, patched into the film through vivid flashbacks, he also absorbs his new, wholly unsettled, lost, listing life. Through his encounters on the road, and his conversations with the strange but fascinating Dulcie, he eventually finds a new perspective on his family life. Directed by Bart Freundlich, whose THE MYTH OF THE FINGERPRINTS carried a similar theme of looking at life with introspection through outsider's eyes, WORLD TRAVELER deftly uses the talents of both Crudup and Moore and allows them to propel the film into its nearly dreamlike crossroads between living life and just thinking about it. [More]
Starring: Billy Crudup, Julianne Moore, Karen Allen, Liane Balaban
Starring: Billy Crudup, Julianne Moore, Karen Allen, Liane Balaban, James LeGros
Director: Bart Freundlich
Director: Bart Freundlich
Screenwriter: Bart Freundlich
Producer: Tim Perell, Bart Freundlich
Studio: ThinkFilm
Reviews for World Traveler
A journey that is as difficult for the audience to take as it is for the protagonist -- yet it's potentially just as rewarding.
Shot like a postcard and overacted with all the boozy self-indulgence that brings out the worst in otherwise talented actors...
Freundlich's film won't appeal to those who like well-defined heroes and clear conclusions. But there is plenty here for folks who like something to chew on.
Cal (Billy Crudup) remains both frustratingly opaque and highly unlikeable; a lethal combination when you're required to spend two hours with someone in a car.
A pretty but empty portrait of a vacuous character...the picture doesn't get very far or go very deep.
Yes, I suppose it's lovely that Cal works out his issues with his dad and comes to terms with his picture-perfect life -- but World Traveler gave me no reason to care, so I didn't.
The gifted Crudup has the perfect face to play a handsome blank yearning to find himself, and his cipherlike personality and bad behavior would play fine if the movie knew what to do with him.
World Traveler, written and directed by Bart Freundlich, isn't going to be Crudup's breakthrough hit. But it does have a wonderful, fascinating performance by him.
A poky and pseudo-serious exercise in sham actor workshops and an affected malaise.
Even as I valiantly struggled to remain interested, or at least conscious, I could feel my eyelids ... getting ... very ... heavy ...
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