TRACKS

BY: Amanda Jane Stern

It takes at least 9 months to walk the 2,700 kilometres (1,700 miles) across the Australian outback. But it’s hard to think of a better hiking buddy than Adam Driver.

As shaggy-haired National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan, Driver accompanies Australian travel writer Robyn Davidson (portrayed by Mia Wasikowska) on a “walkabout” across the Down Under desert. Even without the scorching sand and sun, there’s a heat between the two leads. Rick and Robyn have an on-and-off relationship during her travels, as he meets up with her along the way.

 

Coming along for the long journey —from Alice Springs in Australia’s Northern Territory to the coast of the Indian Ocean on the other side of the continent— are 4 dromedary camels (Dookie, Bub, Goliath, and the wild female Zeleika), and Robyn’s faithful dog.

 

The movie is based on a true story, with a screenplay by Marion Nelson, based on Davidson’s memoir. So it’s not quite a spoiler to say that Driver and Wasikowska’s characters didn’t end up together in real life. In reality, after completing the trek, she ended up in a relationship with writer Salman Rushdie during the 1980s. And Rick also ended up with a writer, marrying Jennifer Erwitt, who has collaborated with him on multiple books.

 

Directed by John Curran, who had previously written the screenplay for the erotic crime drama The Killer Inside Me, and went onto direct 2017’s Chappaquiddick. Originally from upstate New York, Curran lived in Australia in the 1990s. His 1998 debut feature Praise (with a young Joel Edgerton in a supporting role) about ne’er do well twenty-somethings was shot in Brisbane, Australia, and Curran was nominated for best director at the Australian Film Institute Awards.

 

You can watch Tracks for free this week on PROVOKR.