The film begins in 1947 with Sal Paradise (Sam Riley)
walking on a road before a truck stops and lets him on; he makes quick
friends and jokes around with the men in the back of the truck. Five
months earlier, on the day his father is buried, his friend Chad brings
him to meet Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund) and his 16-year-old wife Marylou (Kristen Stewart). Sal befriends Dean, smoking marijuana with him and visiting a jazz nightclub where they meet saxophonist Walter (Terrence Howard),
who also becomes friends with them. Dean gets a job as a chauffeur
(having previously been a car thief). Sal teaches Dean how to write
before another friend, Carlo Marx (Tom Sturridge) leaves with Dean for Denver.
After much contemplation, writer's block and a solemn visit to his father's grave, Sal decides to join his friends in Denver and embarks on the road for the first time. There, Sal meets Camille (Kirsten Dunst) an art college student Dean is divorcing Marylou for. Later that evening Carlo tells Sal that he thinks he might be gay and that he plans to travel to Africa. Carlo and Dean have also started an affair. Carlo, Sal, Camille and Dean then visit a bar where Dean plays the song "I've Got the World on a String" on the jukebox and Camille bonds with Sal.
Sal leaves aboard a bus and meets Terry (Alice Braga). The two travel to California where Terry works on cotton fields with her family while Sal helps. Sal and Terry have a brief affair before Sal, realising that he isn't made to work in the fields, heads back home.
A year later 1948, Dean, Marylou and Ed Dunkel (Danny Morgan) arrive at Sal's family's home in North Carolina, having left Ed's wife Galatea (Elisabeth Moss) with Old Bull Lee (Viggo Mortensen) in Louisiana. The trio eat dinner together and the next day drive back to New York with Sal's mother. The gang see in the New Year at Carlo's place. Dean convinces Sal to partake in a threesome with him and Marylou. He starts kissing Marylou, but gets nervous and tells Dean to go to the kitchen. Following this, Dean and Marylou have sex while Sal listens in the other room.
The next day, they ride off to California, while they leave Ed at Bull's. When they arrive there, Sal and Marylou rent a room as Dean drives to Camille's place. Marylou and Sal have sex in their apartment the next morning. She then leaves to go back to her Sailor fiancé in Denver and Sal goes over to visit Dean and Camille, who by now have two children together. Sal and Dean visit a nightclub, leaving Camille alone to deal with the children. When they return home, she kicks Dean out.
The two agree to go to Denver to find Dean's father and then to New York. Having no luck finding Dean's father, they travel back to New York with a tall thin salesman (Steve Buscemi) who Dean tries to get money from in exchange for sex. Dean has sex with the man which gives him and Sal enough money to get where they need to go.
Eight months later Dean asks Sal if he would like to drive to Mexico. When they arrive a kid gets high with them and leads them to a whorehouse, where Dean and Sal dance and have sex with some of the prostitutes. They later roam the streets getting stoned and drunk, but Sal gets sick and Dean leaves him behind to deal with his troubles with Camille. After recovering, Sal heads back home as well.
Much later, back in New York, Sal meets Dean on the street on his way to a Duke Ellington concert. Dean says he travelled across the country by rail road to see Sal and that he is having another child with Camille. Sal's friends hurry him so they can get on their way and as Sal turns to leave he asks for a lift to 114th Street. Sal, saying it is good to see him, leaves Dean to walk and leaves with his friends in their car.
When Sal gets home he is able to write the book he has wanted to all along. He writes about the road and all the stories in between.
The film concludes with the final words of the book: "I think of Dean Moriarty, I even think of the old Moriarty we never found, I think of Dean Moriarty."
After much contemplation, writer's block and a solemn visit to his father's grave, Sal decides to join his friends in Denver and embarks on the road for the first time. There, Sal meets Camille (Kirsten Dunst) an art college student Dean is divorcing Marylou for. Later that evening Carlo tells Sal that he thinks he might be gay and that he plans to travel to Africa. Carlo and Dean have also started an affair. Carlo, Sal, Camille and Dean then visit a bar where Dean plays the song "I've Got the World on a String" on the jukebox and Camille bonds with Sal.
Sal leaves aboard a bus and meets Terry (Alice Braga). The two travel to California where Terry works on cotton fields with her family while Sal helps. Sal and Terry have a brief affair before Sal, realising that he isn't made to work in the fields, heads back home.
A year later 1948, Dean, Marylou and Ed Dunkel (Danny Morgan) arrive at Sal's family's home in North Carolina, having left Ed's wife Galatea (Elisabeth Moss) with Old Bull Lee (Viggo Mortensen) in Louisiana. The trio eat dinner together and the next day drive back to New York with Sal's mother. The gang see in the New Year at Carlo's place. Dean convinces Sal to partake in a threesome with him and Marylou. He starts kissing Marylou, but gets nervous and tells Dean to go to the kitchen. Following this, Dean and Marylou have sex while Sal listens in the other room.
The next day, they ride off to California, while they leave Ed at Bull's. When they arrive there, Sal and Marylou rent a room as Dean drives to Camille's place. Marylou and Sal have sex in their apartment the next morning. She then leaves to go back to her Sailor fiancé in Denver and Sal goes over to visit Dean and Camille, who by now have two children together. Sal and Dean visit a nightclub, leaving Camille alone to deal with the children. When they return home, she kicks Dean out.
The two agree to go to Denver to find Dean's father and then to New York. Having no luck finding Dean's father, they travel back to New York with a tall thin salesman (Steve Buscemi) who Dean tries to get money from in exchange for sex. Dean has sex with the man which gives him and Sal enough money to get where they need to go.
Eight months later Dean asks Sal if he would like to drive to Mexico. When they arrive a kid gets high with them and leads them to a whorehouse, where Dean and Sal dance and have sex with some of the prostitutes. They later roam the streets getting stoned and drunk, but Sal gets sick and Dean leaves him behind to deal with his troubles with Camille. After recovering, Sal heads back home as well.
Much later, back in New York, Sal meets Dean on the street on his way to a Duke Ellington concert. Dean says he travelled across the country by rail road to see Sal and that he is having another child with Camille. Sal's friends hurry him so they can get on their way and as Sal turns to leave he asks for a lift to 114th Street. Sal, saying it is good to see him, leaves Dean to walk and leaves with his friends in their car.
When Sal gets home he is able to write the book he has wanted to all along. He writes about the road and all the stories in between.
The film concludes with the final words of the book: "I think of Dean Moriarty, I even think of the old Moriarty we never found, I think of Dean Moriarty."
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