Can a road trip help two expectant parents find their perfect home?
In short: Verona and Burt are in their thirties, living in Denver, and expecting their first child. When Burt's parents announce they are moving to Belgium, the couple decides to travel across the country to find the ideal place to raise their family, encountering various parenting styles and lifestyles along the way.
Directed by Sam Mendes, the 2009 film Away We Go follows the journey of Verona De Tessant and Burt Farlander. The screenplay was penned by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, marking a departure for Mendes as it was his first feature without the musical collaboration of Thomas Newman. Instead, the film relies on a soundtrack primarily composed of songs by Alexi Murdoch.
The narrative centers on the couple's search for a place to settle down after learning they are becoming parents. Their travels take them to Phoenix, Tucson, Madison, Montreal, and Miami. At each stop, they encounter friends and family whose approaches to life and child-rearing vary significantly, ranging from the crass behavior of Verona's former boss to the radical, moneyed parenting philosophies of an old college friend in Wisconsin.
Critical reception of the film was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 67% approval rating, with some reviewers describing it as an uneven road trip. While some critics, such as A. O. Scott, labeled the protagonists as self-righteous, others like Roger Ebert defended the characters, arguing that their perceived smugness was justified by their genuine care and sensitivity. Ultimately, the couple finds their own path, choosing to settle in Verona's childhood home on the Florida panhandle after realizing it is where they belong.
The film premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2009 and saw a limited theatrical release in the United States that June. It explores themes of family, loss, and the anxieties of impending parenthood, particularly through Verona's struggle with the absence of her own parents, who died in a car crash when she was 22.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Away We Go
- Also: Wikidata — Away We Go · CC0
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