The Salt Path: A Greater Opportunity to Connect With Nature Than It Is to Truly Connect to the Winns.
Instead of explaining to the audience some of the truth and reality behind what happened to the Winns, the film glosses over the idea that this could happen to anyone, and many paths may lead here.
Written by Hailey Passmore
Under the surface, there is a darkness that is not always shown to the world. Yet, there is something too cinematic about The Salt Path that prevents this darkness from being truly seen. There is perhaps a greater infatuation with falling in love with and finding yourself in nature than there is a development of character, even if they are based on real people. This results in giving audiences more time to connect with the vast British landscape than to truly develop connections with and sympathy for the Winns.
Gillian Anderson stars as Raynor Winn, whose 2018 memoir, dedicated to her husband, compiles the notes she made while documenting her and her husband Moth’s hike along the South West Coast Path – a 630-mile stretch from Minehead in Somerset to Poole Harbour in Dorset, England. Opposite Anderson stars Jason Isaacs as Moth Winn, a man who was diagnosed with a rare and progressive neurodegenerative disease, corticobasal degeneration (CBD). Within no time at all, after his diagnosis, the Winn’s lose their home due to unsettled debt and are left with major decisions to be made.
As her feature-length directorial debut, Marianne Elliott provides more of a tedious overcoat of beauty instead of diving deep into the pain and suffering that comes with the burdens the Winn’s are suffering. In taking Raynor’s memoir and turning it into a screenplay, screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz creates a glossy, repetitive storyline, losing sight of the deeper fight present in the Winn’s. Audiences are introduced to Raynor and Moth as they begin their trek across the Southwest Coast Path, and though they face hardships from the unkind, both nature and humans, there is always a moment where humanity and kindness come their way. The Salt Path does not develop fully as a story, instead, it comprises scenes of the Winns moving along the path, followed by flashbacks providing context as to how they lost their house and when Moth received his diagnosis, with other key details included as well.
Anderson and Isaacs, however, bring the Winns to life with the tremors on their faces and, especially for Moth, in their bodies. The journey taken, to contemplate and understand life, what they went through, can be felt through their performance. How they must have felt when Moth was diagnosed with an incurable disease, or when they were physically removed from the premises and lost their home, through their compassion for the Winn’s and their talent, Anderson and Isaacs’ performances are nothing but endearing. It is the script and the nonlinear storytelling style that lack in terms of The Salt Path’s overall impact.
Instead of explaining to the audience some of the truth and reality behind what happened to the Winns, the film glosses over the idea that this could happen to anyone, and many paths may lead here. As the film begins, the screen is small and tight within the frame, but one scene showcases the vast space that is the Southwest Coast of England. Cinematographically speaking, here, the frame widens and finally fills the screen, allowing the viewer to have a more comfortable watch. But this element of cinema does not provide much in terms of the film itself. What it does is further invite the audience to connect with nature, as if suggesting that is what the Winn’s are doing. Turning away from their hardships and showcasing their healing through the power of the outdoors.
Working best with the material they were provided with, Anderson and Isaacs do the Winns justice. It is, however, sad to say that The Salt Path provides more opportunities for the audience to join them in their healing through nature, while showcasing the gorgeous views of the Southwest Coast, compared to inviting them to empathize with the Winns.
The Salt Path premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (2024) last fall and has now been released in UK cinemas. Opening day saw screens filled with those aged later in life, which perhaps shows who the intended audience may be.
Originally published on wspotlight.blogspot.com
Comments
Post a Comment