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The Road to Galena

Play trailer 2:02 Poster for The Road to Galena R 2022 1h 50m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
42% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
The Road to Galena follows one man's pursuit of personal fulfillment over traditional success. Cole Baird (Ben Winchell) has everything -- a beautiful wife, successful career, large home and fancy toys. Behind the façade, however, is a man trapped by his surroundings and falling ever behind in the pursuit of his life's dream. Not strong enough to confront his father's expectations, he left his true love, his best friend and a fulfilling small-town life to embark on a legal career -- intent, one day, to return. Now the rising star in Washington social circles and the youngest managing partner in the history of a powerhouse D.C. law firm, Cole is given the choice to continue the path of success in a life to which he never aspired or to return to the community that nurtured him.
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The Road to Galena

Critics Reviews

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Mark Keizer AV Club Jul 8, 2022
C-
A movie of tropes and clichés that argues, with generic earnestness and a near-total lack of surprise, that the city is a corrupting influence compared to the nurturing, sun-drenched simplicity of the country. Go to Full Review Jordan Bond Film Threat Jan 31, 2024
7/10
The film is well-made, with beautiful cinematography, very fine acting, and great direction. Go to Full Review Steven Warner In Review Online Jul 26, 2022
Ultimately, no one is done any favors by The Road to Galena, least of all its audience members; if only Hall had learned that being this cruelly condescending is a rich man’s game. Go to Full Review Anne Brodie What She Said Jul 13, 2022
Thankfully not sappy, it’s a tough story with situations that represent corporate greed, economic constraints, and the validity of working for a dream of wealth, cars, mansions, and the cost of “the good life”. Go to Full Review Joel Copling Spectrum Culture Jul 13, 2022
As written and performed, Ben Winchell’s Cole is an inconsistent character and a mostly reactive presence. Go to Full Review Monique Jones Common Sense Media Jul 12, 2022
2/5
Meandering... Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Delaney H @RT95270073 Sep 11, 2025 A timeless story, beautifully shot! See more Jerome V @Jeromevalverde Jan 26, 2024 Beautifully shot movie. Poetic view of small-town life. Reminiscent of "Our Town." All of the supporting characters' lives have impact and carry a lot of weight. The main character is transformed by the people around him. See more Taylor L @RT77267842 Aug 26, 2022 Okay, so sit down for storytime: this movie was filmed near my hometown and my parents are in a few background shots as extras; it's a bit surreal seeing places you knew as a kid used as the setting for a movie. Anyway, a couple of times that they were on set they took my dog, a then-12-year-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Shadow that loved everybody and would sell you out for the skin off a piece of bologna. There was no need to bring her there, nobody had asked for a dog to be brought in for a shot or anything. But the production team included her as part of a few takes anyway, walking down a town sidewalk with my parents, and apparently she was constantly distracting because the main cast would stop to pet her instead of delivering their lines properly as the script called for. This happened every. single. time. None of the takes with her made it into the final version, so clearly someone at the editing department has no taste. Release the Shadow cut, you cowards. Anyway the movie's not very good. Poorly paced, inconsistent characters, and simultaneously worshiping and weirdly patronizing of the farm life. Injects some hefty drama later when it goes sort of Death of a Salesman but wanders around through subplots before it gets there. (1.5/5) See more Aug 5, 2022 Solid acting from main characters, good to see Jill Hennessy on screen again. See more Jul 24, 2022 Great story. Wonder cinematography. Entertaining from beginning to end! See more Jul 23, 2022 Loved the story line that portrays the complexity of life without having to bring in the utterly bizarre. The ending hit me as realistic handling of the consequences involved with life's choices See more Read all reviews
The Road to Galena

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Cast & Crew

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Joe Hall

Director

Ben Winchell

Cole Baird

Aimee Teegarden

Elle Shepard

Will Brittain

Jack Miller

Alisa Allapach

Sarah Meyers

Jay O. Sanders

John Baird

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The Road to Galena

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The Road to Galena

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Movie Info

Synopsis The Road to Galena follows one man's pursuit of personal fulfillment over traditional success. Cole Baird (Ben Winchell) has everything -- a beautiful wife, successful career, large home and fancy toys. Behind the façade, however, is a man trapped by his surroundings and falling ever behind in the pursuit of his life's dream. Not strong enough to confront his father's expectations, he left his true love, his best friend and a fulfilling small-town life to embark on a legal career -- intent, one day, to return. Now the rising star in Washington social circles and the youngest managing partner in the history of a powerhouse D.C. law firm, Cole is given the choice to continue the path of success in a life to which he never aspired or to return to the community that nurtured him.
Director
Joe Hall
Producer
Eric Bannat, Joe Hall
Screenwriter
Joe Hall
Distributor
Vertical Entertainment
Production Co
AVA Independent
Rating
R (Language)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 8, 2022, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 8, 2022
Runtime
1h 50m
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