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WORLD TRAVELER

"Redeeming Modern Male Angst"

What You Need To Know:

Billy Crudup stars in WORLD TRAVELER as Cal, a misguided young man in his early 30s who suddenly leaves his beautiful wife and young son in New York City. Working his way west, Cal takes a job as a day laborer and befriends one of his co-workers for a while before moving on again. Eventually, after some extramarital flings, he gives a ride to Montana to a woman, played by Julianne Moore, to pick up her child from her ex-husband. There is more to her story than meets the eye, however, and soon Cal is on the road again to the real destination he’s been traveling toward the whole time – a confrontation with the father who abandoned Cal and his mother long ago.

Ultimately, Cal discovers that, if he wants “a better life,” he will only achieve it when he becomes a better person. Thus, the movie ends on a satisfying, redemptive note, with Cal abandoning the adulterous wanderlust that has overtaken him. The movie’s ending also validates married family life, including the moral responsibility that fathers have toward their children. The movie’s sexual themes and foul language require an extreme caution, however

Content:

(B, C, PaPa, LLL, V, S, NN, AA, D, M) Moral worldview with light redemptive elements in story about man who leaves his family, commits adultery but returns after being cajoled and shamed into being a better person; pagan behavior depicted; 18 obscenities, four strong profanities and four mild profanities; mild violence includes drunken man makes pass at woman, who slaps him; implied adultery, implied oral sex and a couple other brief sexual references; upper male nudity and man secretly watches woman undress from behind; alcohol use and drunkenness; and lying, man abandons wife and young son, and man abandons mentally ill woman.

More Detail:

Billy Crudup and Julianne Moore cement their reputations for fine acting in the male angst movie, WORLD TRAVELER. Crudup stars as Cal, a misguided young man in his early 30s who suddenly leaves his beautiful wife and young son in New York City. Working his way west, Cal takes a job as a day laborer and has a fling with a waitress played by Karen Allen. He befriends one of his co-workers, an ex-alcoholic named Carl, played wonderfully by Cleavant Derricks.

After making a failed pass at Carl’s wife, Cal goes on the road again. He picks up a female hitchhiker and runs into an ex-classmate, who’s happy to see that Cal has made a mess of his life. The classmate challenges Cal to do something good for a change.

Cal eventually meets a stranded woman, Dulcie, played by Julianne Moore. Cal agrees to take Dulcie to Montana to pick up her own son, who she says is living with her rich, unpleasant ex-husband. There is more to her story than meets the eye, however, and soon Cal is on the road again to the real destination he’s been traveling toward the whole time – a confrontation with the father who abandoned Cal and his mother long ago.

Cal is clearly a friendly, charming young man, despite the sins which betray his true nature. Ultimately, Cal discovers that, if he truly wants “a better life,” he will only achieve it when he becomes a better person. Thus, the movie ends on a satisfying, redemptive note, with Cal abandoning the adulterous wanderlust that has overtaken him. The movie’s uplifting ending also presents a subtle validation of married family life, including the moral responsibility that fathers have toward their children.

As indicated above, Billy Crudup is marvelous as Cal and Julianne Moore is excellent as Dulcie, a woman who has lost her sense of reality. David Keith does a superb cameo as Cal’s wandering father. Setting the mood to this quiet drama are a series of melancholy, provocative songs by Willie Nelson. They lend a nostalgic, western feel to Cal’s journey of self-discovery.

Despite the positive ending to WORLD TRAVELER, the movie takes a while to get there. Also, the movie plays out for a long time in a non-judgmental manner. The filmmakers leave it up to the viewers to judge Cal. Thus, although it becomes clear that Cal has lost his way, only viewers with moral discernment will be able to do the work necessary to distance themselves from Cal’s sinful nature and the movie’s realistic portrayal of modern male angst. Therefore, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for WORLD TRAVELER.