Cas & Dylan (2013)

I found this on DVD from my local public library.It is a Canadian production, the road trip heads to Vancouver.Tatiana Maslany is 20-something Dylan Morgan, she fashions herself as a writer but has not been successful yet. She often hangs out in odd places to experience life and get ideas. Like the hospital where doctor Pepper works.Richard Dreyfuss is approaching 70 as Dr. Cas Pepper, he seems a bit distraught and we soon find out he is dying of brain cancer. He just wants to be left alone to drive west.But Dylan is persistent, she needs to escape an abusive boyfriend and insinuates herself into Cas's situation. They end up heading west together. Both actors create interesting characters. Through the days of the trip each has an affect on the other and in the end Dylan can choose a better path for her writing aspirations. Like actually growing up a bit and getting some much needed education and training.Not a great movie but mostly interesting.SPOILERS: Cas' plan involves traveling to his vacation home on an island off the Vancouver coast and dying where he had shared a place with his wife who died maybe 10 years earlier. He had never let her go, even keeping up her phone account so he could dial and hear her voice on the answering message. In the end he does that with supplies he had brought along. Dylan was pregnant from Bobby, in the end we see she had the baby and was now attending college courses to better prepare herself for a writing career.

I mean as bizarre as "Rubin & Ed" starring Crispin Glover and Howard Hesseman is, at least it is not boring. "Cas & Dylan" on the other hand is a road trip that goes nowhere. The acting is strong by Richard Dreyfuss, but the screenplay meanders and quite frankly is sleep inducing. The subject matter borders on depressing, and suicide never has been dealt with very successfully, except perhaps in "The End", which is a hilarious "black comedy" starring Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise. "Cas & Dylan" has neither the outrageousness of "Rubin & Ed", or the "dark comedy" of "The End". So the movie really just sort of drifts along to the end. - MERK

Well worth watching! An excellent story to add to the many 'on the road' movies that seem to be popular with writers and directors.This is the usual story of self discovery between two unlikely people that have different reasons to cross the vast stretch of land from coast to coast of Canada. I believe the intention of the director, Jason Priestley, was to show two very real people but everything in the story is not necessarily real. The viewer is won over by the charming portrayal of Cas & Dylan by Dreyfus and Maslany. This isn't a profound story to discuss nor think too much about, instead it offers us a fine story that works well, beautiful photography, and a chemistry between Dreyfus and Maslany that makes you care about their purposes to cross the country.This is a simple joyful and sorrowful film that delivers 90 minutes of good entertainment.

Just saw it at the Dublin Film Festival and it's an absolutely great movie. The acting of both leads is perfect. You never stop believing them. And you go with them through the whole journey (both the literal road journey and the bigger metaphorical one). The movie is actually surprisingly light and funny (considering the story). Even though it touches rather serious topics of life and death, it manages to do so very gently and inoffensively and with a good deal of humour. It kind of focuses more on them learning from each other how to live then on him dying. So the overall feeling is surprisingly optimistic. And, since it's a road movie, you'll get some beautiful wide-screen shots of Canadian landscape to enjoy as well.