Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot – DVD Review

We take a look at the DVD release of Gus Van Sant’s latest, starring Joaquin Phoenix, called, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot.

A biopic about a man few knew by name, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot keeps a medium-cool temperament as it jumps through time telling of John Callahan’s multiple trips to rock bottom and back again. Coming from screenwriter/director Gus Van Sant it’s no surprise the chilled-out approach fits in with a journey that’s more about the person you become on the other side than it is about where you end up.

Callahan (Joaquin Phoenix) is a heavy drinker with a carefree attitude until a fateful accident leaves him as a quadriplegic. Then he becomes a depressed heavy drinker on his way to drinking himself to death. Pushed into an AA meeting, Callahan isn’t exactly engaged with the idea of drying out. But he is drawn in by the smooth, saint-like Donny (Jonah Hill). It’s within Donny’s private group meetings that Callahan begins to find the resolve to change. This includes the salvation he finds as a cartoonist, eventually receiving some notoriety.

When you’re as acclaimed a filmmaker as Van Sant is it has got to be pretty easy to recruit quality talent. The faces that show up here would make for a stacked marquee at the box office: Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, and Jack Black play some of the important people in John’s orbit and Phoenix generously shares the screen. Phoenix’s performance may in fact seem a bit subdued when compared to some of the actor’s recent work (including what we’ve seen from Todd Phillips’ The Joker). But he’s a true professional and nails the subtle moments that signal the biggest shifts in John’s life.

The highs of Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot aren’t emotionally transformative and its lows don’t exactly scrape the barrel. It’s a nice middle-of-the-road drama and worth checking out for the performances alone.

The DVD release comes with a digital download but no extra features. It isn’t available on Blu-ray, which is a damn shame, but you can rent or purchase it on your preferred VOD platform.

Tags: don't worry he won't get far on foot, dvd, gus van sant, Joaquin Phoenix, jonah hill, no blu ray release

About the Author

Dan Nicholls is a Vancouver-based, lifelong movie geek who's been a projectionist, critic, director, (accidental) actor, and writer in the industry since E.T. phoned home. @dannicholls