The Road to Galena: Can You Change the Road You’re On?

The Road to Galena: Can You Change the Road You’re On?

Cast: Ben Winchell, Will Brittain, Aimee Teegarden, Alisa Allapach, J O. Sanders, Jill Hennessy, Margaret Colin, Jennifer Holliday, Tracy Fisher, Audrey Wasilewski

Critic’s Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

Director: Joe Hall

Duration: 1 hour, 53 minutes

Genre: Drama

Language: English 

What’s it about?

Despite pursuing a prosperous corporate career, Cole Baird questions his life’s decisions while reflecting on his youth in the farm-rich Galena.

Review:

How does one define success and happiness while attempting to straddle rural and urban environments in contemporary America? That’s the question that this ambitious, but partially effective movie, sets out to address. Are the attachments to one’s roots and young love enough to override the journey that one’s life is destined to take? How much are we in control of circumstance and can we truly realise our adolescent dreams? That is this film’s premise in a nutshell. But the same could have been set in motion with more plausible drama and a more resolute conclusion.

The film opens with a phone call interrupting the busy lifestyle of a corporate lawyer Cole Baird (Ben Winchell). The ring is a metaphorical and actual alarm bell, immersing him into a flashback of his early life at his rural hometown of Galena. Cole vividly recalls his late teen years hanging out with his high school sweetheart Elle (Aimee Teegarden) and his best friend Jack (Will Brittain), whose family’s farm he enjoys helping out on. Meanwhile, Cole’s father John (Jay O. Sanders), a banker who manages the local farmers’ accounts, has high hopes for his son. Dutifully, the young man goes to college, but not without harbouring dreams of returning into Elle’s arms and buying up coveted farmland.

But reality strikes when Cole surprisingly secures a scholarship for law school, thus losing out on crucial time with the people closest to him. On graduating, his dramatic scale up the corporate ladder is offset by personal tragedy, especially concerning his devoted mother Teresa (Jill Hennessy). Tensions also brew between him, Elle and Jack even though he tries to make time for both of them. But work and his interest in a fellow lawyer Sarah Meyers (Alisa Allapach) pull him away, causing him severe dilemmas. He bemoans the fact that he is not present to advise Jack, who is a hardworking farmer but with limited business acumen. Matters worsen when Sarah’s work appears to put a strain on the farmers of Galena’s community.

Producer-writer-director Joe Hall’s maiden attempt at a feature-length film is a fairly sincere effort at realising a sentimental script. However, Hall could have tightened the occasionally sluggish pacing. Also, some protracted scenes seem to lack the impact they could have had. We have seen similar territory of Regret, based on the dichotomy of one’s aspirations and one’s reality, explored previously in Lala Land (2016).

Still, all the actors here try hard to make the most of their roles, especially the veteran Sanders as the Dad who watches his career take a downward spiral. Plus, the textured and varied cinematography is captivating, as are the production values. Also, Jennifer Holliday registers a good turn as Florrie – a cafe owner who is Cole’s voice of reason. In conclusion, while it may not evoke abundant empathy for the people on screen,  this one's at best, a decent slice of the present day human experience in a rapidly changing world.