THE JACK KEROUAC STORY is a dramatic, character driven study of Beat Generation pioneer, Jack Kerouac. It’s an emotional journey of self-discovery, much like his “On The Road” trip of discovery. Jack’s actionable goal is clear: get clear and sober. The stakes are personal and physical. Solid themes about mourning, healing, redemption, recovery, and moving on are well explored. The story is also driven by the emotional needs of the character to find redemption for the guilt he feels about his brother dying. It’s a skillfully crafted expedition of self-transformation. Visual storytelling is at its best, ranging from the scenery at the isolated cabin to the creativity of the “flower power” spiraling rainbow colors, to the visual of the scroll, …show more content…
The flashbacks follow Jack’s life struggle as a writer, his relationship with fellow peers, and his dysfunctional relationship with various women that contribute to his drug abuse. Jack’s past story of struggle is skillfully told against his present day struggle with withdrawing. What’s clever is that as Jack descends into his drug abuse, which eventually leads him to his self-exile, nicely mirrors Jack’s descent into his withdrawals. Eventually, both of his worlds – the past and the present – collide with each other. The plot featuring Jack’s life of substance abuse and his subsequent recovery, definitely gives this story about Jack a unique point of view and a unique hook that sets the story apart from other films about Jack’s life. The time period is very authentic from establishing Jack’s hermit-like lifestyle, to the club scenes, to experimenting with drugs, to the written scroll, to his road trip, and to the friendships he establishes with icons Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, and Neal …show more content…
The pitch is very cerebral and intellectual. The storytelling and writing style mimics Jack’s own chaotic writing method and style of flash, free flowing stream of consciousness writing. The script has an artistic flare The first act clearly declares the goal. The second act, at the cabin, is goal-focused on his battle with sobriety. He’s very tempted to give in to his demons. There are several well-crafted scenes in which one can feel Jack’s torment. This includes him knocking the glass to the floor and his battle with morphine. However, both of these scenes are back to back with each other. Thus, they are too close to each other, vs. balancing them out. One occurs on page 12 and the other occurs on page 13. There are some nice transitions from the cabin scenes to the past story and then back again. His memories in the cabin trigger the flashbacks. The doe scene is a particularly well-crafted scene with a smooth transition. The second act of the “flashback” storyline focuses on how Jack becomes addicted. His drug abuse becomes more intensified as the structure progresses, until he looks like a corpse. The stakes rise when a doctor warns Jack that if he continues his current life style, he’ll die. This creates a nice ticking