The year is 1964.  Kennedy is dead and Johnson is president.  American troops are in Vietnam but the American public is not yet concerned with that conflict.  Instead, it’s the British Invasion that has intrigued the youth of America.  People know that times are changing but they have no idea just how much change is waiting for them in the future.

Jim Goodwin (Zachary Quninto) is a meek animal trainer who is driving across the country with his chimpanzee, Spanky.  At one time, Spanky was a celebrity.  He ice skated with the stars.  He appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.  Everyone loved Spanky but now, it appears that his time has passed.  People are more interested in Beatles than chimps.  With Spanky no longer in demand, Jim’s marriage is failing and he’s struggling to pay the bills.

At a Nevada gas station, Jim sees a young man named Bobby Falls (Jacob Elordi) trying to hitch a ride.  Assuming that Bobby is a college student and wanting someone to talk to during the long drive to Chicago, Jim offers him a ride.  Bobby is reluctant at first and demands to know if Jim has some sort of sinister motive for picking him up.  After Jim promises that he doesn’t, Bobby gets in the truck with him.

What Jim doesn’t know, but eventually learns, is that Bobby is a criminal.  Using a derringer, Bobby has been robbing gas stations and executing the gas station attendants.  Their journey becomes a rather macabre road trip, with Jim and Bobby bonding despite the fact that Jim is scared of Bobby and Bobby always seems to be one step away from snapping.  Bobby encourages Jim to stop being such a wimp and Jim encourages Bobby to maybe not be such a violent sociopath.  Though Bobby and Jim come from different worlds, they both have one thing in common.  They really like the chimpanzee.

I have to admit that I liked the chimpanzee as well.  Bobby’s a killer so it’s impossible for me to like him.  Jim is a wimp who fails to take advantage of several opportunities to escape so it’s impossible for me to respect him.  But Spanky is an innocent animal who likes to eat apples and who sincerely cares about both his owner and the hitchhiker who keeps losing his temper.  I watched the film dreading that something bad would happen to Spanky.  In fact, the only reason I stuck with the film for its entire running time was because I wanted to make sure Spanky survived. 

(SPOILER ALERT: He did.  Whatever other flaws this film may have, there is no deliberate animal cruelty.)

I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about this movie.  There was a lot that I didn’t like about the film.  I never bought the relationship between the two main characters (though I should also acknowledge that the film is loosely based on a true story and ends with an interview with the real life model for Jim).  The performances felt a bit one-note.  And, to be honest, I’m a bit bored with movies about people who spend the majority of their time killing other people.  At the same time, the film looked great.  Visually, it really captured the arid beauty of the American desert.  And the film’s final twist was just bizarre enough to make me smile.  Tragically, director Jeffrey Darling died shortly after completing production of this film.  (It was his feature directorial debut.)  And while I didn’t care much for the film, there were moments where I could see the talent of the director peeking through.  I would have liked to have seen what Darling’s second film would have been.

As for He Went That Way, it’s not a disastrous film but it’s also not one that I will probably ever feel like rewatching.