The Roads Not Taken (2020)

The Roads Not Taken is special because it turns a single day in New York into something quietly epic, where the city’s bustle becomes the backdrop for an intimate, aching portrait of a mind slipping out of sync with time. Javier Bardem gives a performance that feels lived-in and vulnerable, while Elle Fanning anchors the film with clear-eyed warmth, making their bond both tender and fiercely human. The tone is gentle but unsettling in the best way—part grounded drama, part drifting reverie—guided by a singular vision that treats dementia with compassion rather than melodrama. It’s not a crowd-pleaser if you’re looking for a tidy story or easy catharsis, but if you want a thoughtful, well-acted film that lingers like a memory you can’t quite place, it’s worth the trip.

The Roads Not Taken is clearly aiming for an intimate, impressionistic portrait of a father and daughter drifting through New York while his mind slips into alternate lives, and that ambition is worth respecting. The problem is it often plays less like a purposeful mosaic and more like a clumsily assembled set of fragments, with editing and transitions that can feel confusing rather than illuminating. The pacing is slow to the point of inert, so if you need momentum or emotional payoffs that build cleanly, you may find it frustrating and oddly unengaging. Still, the performances are committed and there are moments of tenderness, so it may work for viewers who enjoy mood-driven, loosely structured dramas and don’t mind leaving with questions.