Few genres fit the American landscape as naturally as the road movie. A car, a stretch of highway and a destination on the far side of the map give a filmmaker a plot before a single line of dialogue is written.
Here are seven films that actually travel across the country, or close enough to it that the miles become part of the story. They range from counterculture classics to quiet modern dramas, and each one uses distance differently.
Easy Rider (1969)
Dennis Hopper directed and co-wrote this film, and he starred in it alongside Peter Fonda. Two motorcyclists ride from Los Angeles toward New Orleans for Mardi Gras, funded by a drug deal. The route runs through the Southwest and the Deep South.
It was made on a small budget and became a surprise commercial hit. Many people credit it with helping open the door to a more director-driven era of Hollywood filmmaking. Its soundtrack of existing rock songs also influenced how later films used popular music.
Midnight Run (1988)
Robert De Niro plays a bounty hunter who must bring an accountant, played by Charles Grodin, from New York to Los Angeles. Their plan falls apart almost immediately, so the trip turns into a patchwork of trains, buses, cars and a helicopter. The FBI and the mob are chasing them too.
Martin Brest directed it, and it’s usually remembered as one of the best buddy comedies of its decade. The cross-country structure keeps resetting the situation, which gives the film its rhythm. Every new town brings a new problem.
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Ridley Scott directed this story of two friends, played by Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, who leave Arkansas for a weekend trip. Events push them into flight across the Southwest, and the landscape grows wider and emptier as their options narrow. It was shot largely in California and Utah, with Arches and Canyonlands country standing in for the open West.
Callie Khouri won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The film is still cited often in discussions of women’s roles in action and crime stories. It’s less a journey to a place than a journey away from one.
My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Gus Van Sant’s film follows two young street hustlers, played by River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves. Their travels take them from the Pacific Northwest to Idaho and eventually to Italy. The American stretch moves through small towns and empty highways rather than famous landmarks.
The film is loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s Henry plays. Phoenix’s performance won him the Volpi Cup in Venice. It treats the road as a place where lost people drift, rather than as a route to freedom.
The Straight Story (1999)
David Lynch directed this gentle true story, which is a surprise given his usual work. Alvin Straight, played by Richard Farnsworth, drives a lawn mower from Laurens, Iowa, to Mount Zion, Wisconsin, to visit his ailing brother. The real trip covered roughly 240 miles.
It doesn’t cross the whole country, but it shows how large a journey can feel at five miles an hour. Farnsworth earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. The pace lets the Midwest landscape and the people along the way take center stage.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
A struggling family piles into a yellow VW bus and drives from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to a children’s beauty pageant in Redondo Beach, California. The trip runs through the Southwest deserts and takes about three days in the story. The bus, with its broken horn and stubborn clutch, becomes a character of its own.
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris directed, and the film won two Oscars, for Best Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin) and Best Original Screenplay (Michael Arndt). It’s a comedy about failure and family that stays warm without turning sentimental. Few road films get so much out of a single vehicle.
Nomadland (2020)
Chloé Zhao’s drama follows Fern, played by Frances McDormand, who lives in a van after the closure of a Nevada mill town. She works seasonal jobs and travels through states including Nevada, Arizona, South Dakota and California. Many of the supporting roles are played by real nomads rather than actors.
The film won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress at the 2021 ceremony. It’s based on Jessica Bruder’s nonfiction book about itinerant workers. The road here is a way of life rather than a trip with an end date.
Together, these films show the country from motorcycles, buses, vans and even a lawn mower, and each one leaves the highway looking a little different.
