Unlike many stars from the New Hollywood era,Robert Redforddidn’t peak in the 1960s and ‘70s. While he’s certainly best associated with films likeThree Days of the Condor, Jeremiah Johnson, Downhill Racer,andThe Candidate, that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t stayed active in the decades that followed. Many of Redford’s greatest roles have been in recent films such asThe Old Man & The GunandAll is Lost, which prove that his star power has remained just as endearing throughout the 21st century. In fact, hesurprised us big timewith his role in Marvel’sCaptain America: The Winter Soldier. Redford did some particularly heartfelt work in the underrated 2015 dramedyA Walk in the Woods,a film that nearly reunited himwith his most beloved co-star:Paul Newman.
Paul Newman and Robert Redford Have Incredible Chemistry
A Walk in the Woodsis based on a biographical novel of the same name by the author, journalist, and former chancellor of Durham University,Bill Bryson. Based on Bryson’s real life with Redford in the leading role,the film explores Bryson’s reconnection with his longtime friendStephen Katz. After living in the United Kingdom for over a decade, Bryson decides to move back to his hometown of New Hampshire to live in peace. Despite being successful as a novelist, the death of a close friend forces him to rethink his priorities and commit to seeing all the wonders of the natural world that he had written so much about and fought so hard to preserve. He makes the announcement that he will hike the Appalachian Trail, but his wife Catherine (Emma Thompson) insists that it’s not a trip he can take on his own. She encourages him to reconnect with Katz for the first time in many years so that they can take the trip together.
Katz is the role that Redfordand directorKen Kwapishad intended for Newman, who passed away in 2008. Redford decided to move forward with the film, and Katz ended up being played byNick Nolte. The film debuted at Redford’s Sundance Film Festival in 2015 before it was acquired by Broad Green Pictures, and while it’s great that this inspiring story was told, it’s a little bit sad to not see Newman involved. Redford and Newmans’ chemistry together inButch Cassidy and the Sundance KidandThe Stingwas legendary, andA Walk in the Woodscould have easily served as the conclusion of one of cinema’s greatest duos.
As a filmmaker and artist, Redford has always taken care of the co-stars he’s worked with throughout his career. After Newman’s death, he moved forward with directing the 2013 thrillerThe Company You Keep, which reunited him with New Hollywood icons such asSissy Spacek, Julie Christie, Sam Elliot, Chris Cooper,and Nolte among others, and told a story about former political radicals hunted down by the CIA. It showed that Redford was interested in reflecting on his past work by working with former co-stars, and the premise ofA Walk in the Woodswould have been perfect for areunion movie between him and Paul Newman. What would be a better way to celebrate their previous collaborations than by telling an inspiring story about friends reconnecting?
Nick Nolte Showed a Different Side of Himself With Robert Redford
A Walk in the Woodsis also relevant to Redford’s real life; Redford has never been shy about his beliefs, and has done some trulyincredible work in the field of conservationism. Many of his films, such asJeremiah Johnson, incorporate natural environments, andA Walk in the Woodswas shotin many real national parks.This is something that he and Newman had in common.Newman attended the first Earth Daygathering in 1970, and was frequently outspoken aboutpreventing global warming from escalating. A film that reunited them for the first time in decades had to be about a subject that they both cared about, andA Walk in the Woodswould have provided that opportunity.
While it’s easy to feel melancholy when watchingA Walk in the Woodsand imagining what Newman would have added to it, the film itself is still absolutely delightful. It provided Nolte with the chance to give a grungy, yet surprisingly charismatic performance that is atypical of his general work. It’s clearly a role that was engineered with Newman in mind. Nolte is best known for his more dramatic work, so seeing him in a lighthearted buddy film where he’s doing a lot of physical comedy was an interesting subversion of expectations. It’s safe to say that Nolte has more than earned his place alongside Redford as one of the greatest actors of all time.
Robert Redford and Nick Nolte Are Silly and Heartwarming in ‘A Walk in the Woods’
The film’s message is an endearing one. Over the course of their journey together,Bill and Stephen realize that they are wholly unprepared for the wilderness trip. It’s something that Bill views very idealistically, but he realizes that, as much as he’s written about nature, it’s not something he has any practical knowledge about. As a result, Bill and Stephen get into everything that could possibly go wrong on a hiking trip: their tent collapses, they get lost and injured, disturb wild animals, and to make matters worse, they’re passed on the trail by young people that clearly have more energy than they do. It creates a lot of hilarious scenarios that anyone who has ever spent toomuch time outdoors can relate to.
It’s admirable to see that Nolte and Redford are both so active this late in their careers. Even though Redfordunofficially retired withThe Old Man & The Gun, he still managed to pop up inAvengers: Endgamefor a brief cameo. Nolte has done some of his best work in recent years as well, and even earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance inWarrior. The same could be said of Newman, who was active up until his death.A Walk in the Woodsis an endearing, inspiring film about the necessity of reflection, but it could have depicted that reflection by uniting two legends of the screen who remain forever tied together.
A Walk in the Woodsis available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
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A Walk in the Woods
