''World Traveler'' is a 2001 Canadian-American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

written and directed by

Bart Freundlich Bartholomew Freundlich (born January 17, 1970) is an American film director, television director, screenwriter, and film producer. Early life Freundlich was born and raised in Manhattan, the son of Debbie, a marketing consultant, and Larry Freu ...

, and starring

Billy Crudup William Gaither Crudup (; born July 8, 1968) is an American actor. He is a four-time Tony Award nominee, winning once for his performance in Tom Stoppard's play ''The Coast of Utopia'' in 2007. He has starred in numerous high-profile films, in ...

and

Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, ...

. It was screened at the 2001

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

Premise

The plot concerns a restless New Yorker named Cal who one day drives off into the open road, leaving his wife and infant son behind, and, along the way, meets a number of unusual characters. The film uses numerous songs by

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

Cast

... Cal *

... Dulcie * Cleavant Derricks ... Carl *

Liane Balaban Liane Balaban (born June 24, 1980) is a Canadian actress. Her film debut was in ''New Waterford Girl'' (1999) as Agnes-Marie "Mooney" Pottie. She has since appeared in the films '' Definitely, Maybe'' (2008), ''Last Chance Harvey'' (2008), and th ...

... Meg * David Keith ... Richard *

Mary McCormack Mary Catherine McCormack (born February 8, 1969) is an American actress. She has had leading roles as Justine Appleton in the series '' Murder One'' (1995–97), as Deputy National Security Adviser Kate Harper in ''The West Wing'' (2004–06), a ...

... Margaret *

Karen Allen Karen Jane Allen (born October 5, 1951) is an American film and stage actress. After making her film debut in ''Animal House'' (1978), she portrayed Marion Ravenwood opposite Harrison Ford in '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981), a role she la ...

... Delores *

James LeGros James Le Gros () (born April 27, 1962) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in '' Living in Oblivion''. Career James Le Gros appeared as Rick in Gus Van Sant's 1989 ...

... Jack *

Francie Swift Francie Swift is an American actress best known for her role as Cynthia in ''Thoroughbreds'' and her recurring roles as Haylie Grimes on '' Outsiders'' and Anne Vanderbilt Archibald on ''Gossip Girl''. Life and career Swift was born in Amarill ...

... Joanie

Production

Filming took place in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and the

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

towns of Pacific City and

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

Reception

The film has a 34% approval rating at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 67 reviews, with an

average rating In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...

of 4.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Heavy symbolism and an repulsive lead character make ''World Traveler'' seem like a long trip".

References

External links

* 2001 films American drama films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Bart Freundlich Films scored by Clint Mansell Films shot in Oregon Films shot in Alabama Films shot in Florida 2001 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s Canadian films {{2000s-drama-film-stub