The Road Within (2014)

They don’t come more clichéd than this indie road movie about three runaways who bond as they drive. But riveting, full-blooded performances from the young leads and a tough-love ending raise it above what you may expect.

The Road Within suffers from midfilm wandering and a hasty ending, but the message of self-acceptance rings true and clear.

This is, of course, a movie about affliction, and it ultimately succumbs to the bland, sentimental uplift we've come to expect from such outings.

The film's tired sentimentality aside, its general lack of empathy is most damning.

The Road Within backfires by emphasizing the same quirks and imbalances it seeks to soften. Reducing it to the genre of idiot comedy doesn’t advance the cause, either.