You know the old saying about the truth being stranger than fiction? Well, it's certainly one that applies to the story of Raynor and Moth Winn, a couple who — after a business deal with a friend went awry — lost their home, suffered a devastating neurodegenerative condition diagnosis for husband Moth, and then decided to walk the 630-mile South West Coast Path despite having no prior rambling experience. It's a simultaneously harrowing and inspiring story that first became The Salt Path, a bestselling memoir-cum-travelogue for Raynor Winn, and is now about to become a major new film starring Jason Isaacs (Hello!) and Gillian Anderson. You can check out the newly released trailer below:
If, like us, you're a sucker for walky-talky find yourself films like The Way, Wild, A Walk In The Woods, or The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry, then Marianne Elliott's film looks like it'll fit right within the micro-genre's milieu. There's the life-changing inciting incident, with Moth (Isaacs) and Raynor (Anderson) cowering from the bailiffs and receiving bad news about Moth's corticobasal degeneration; there's the wild, ill-advised, spur of the moment decision to undertake a mammoth outer and inner odyssey; there's the eclectic folk they meet along the way; and there's a lot of holding hands, kissing foreheads, shedding tears, and staring up at the sun-dappled wonders of nature. But what really grabs the attention with this one is the combination of genuinely brilliant source material and the prospect of a leading duo of Isaacs and Anderson's calibre really digging deep and getting vulnerable to tell a story about endurance, love, and the indomitability of the human spirit.
The synopsis for the film, which has been written by Small Axe and She Said scribe Rebecca Lenkiewicz, reads as follows: "After being forcibly removed from their home, Raynor and Moth Winn make the desperate decision to walk in the hope that, in nature, they will find solace and a sense of acceptance. With depleted resources, only a tent and some essentials between them, every step along the path is a testament to their growing strength and determination. The Salt Path is a journey that is exhilarating, challenging, and liberating in equal measure. A portrayal of home, how it can be lost and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways."
Having made an impact at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year, The Salt Path is set to hit cinemas in the UK in 2025. We don't know the exact date just yet, but we reckon there's time enough for a walk between now and whenever it does eventually hit our screens. 630-mile trek along the coast, anyone? We haven't got a Gillian Anderson or a Jason Isaacs, but we could lend you a couple of film journalists in a pinch.