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The Salt Path is the name given for the South West Coast Path National Trail, running for a total of 630 miles.
As we first meet long-married couple Raynor (Gillian Anderson – The Crown Season 4) and Moth Winn (Jason Isaacs – Skyfire), they’re out and about, chancing upon said trail, and head along it, not knowing for how long they’ll follow it.
It’s some time before we learn how things came to this, so I’ll just describe another aspect, and that about aspect ratios, in which we begin with a very brief, windy situation in a tent, shot in 2.39:1, before it goes back to 1.85:1 as they set off on their trip.
The screen later, slowly expands to 2.39:1, with the image revealing more of the gorgeous landscape, but this comes approximately 30 minutes into this two-hour film. On a cinema 2.39:1 screen, it does have a nice effect, but at home on TV – where most people will watch this – they’ll be seeing a windowboxed 1.85:1 image, which looks ridiculous for that length of time.
Plus, there’s no real reason why there’s such a demarcation. Perhaps, if it made the change at the point where they started the walk, that might be something, but it just comes across as “being fancy for the sake of it”.
As for how we got here, the walk is interspersed with flashbacks to a recent time where the couple lost their house, following a bad financial move of guaranteeing a friend’s business which didn’t work out, leading to them being sued, with Raynor not finding the letter in time which confirmed there was no guarantee – submitting a document out of time being an easy mistake for anyone to make – as a result, they’re both evicted from their home of the last few decades.
I can quite understand such a thing happening, but it does show what a bastard the law can be, given what a harrowing and life-changing situation it is.
Their journey also takes in how Moth is diagnosed with a rare disease, Corticobasal degeneration (CBD), which affects his brain and for which there’s no cure. He learns it can take 5-6 years to kick in, but that’s how long he’s been suffering the similar pain, and assumed until that point that it was arthritis.
They also couldn’t qualify for emergency housing, making me wonder that while this film is based on their real-life trip, I figure some elements are embellished. As such, during the applcation, he’s asked straight out, “Will you die in the next 12 months?”
Come on, now. NO council employee is going to ask the question in such a cold-hearted manner!
Additionally, during the trip, as he later gets mistaken for being a poet laureate Simon Armitage – who’s walking the path nearby (even though neither Moth, nor Isaacs resembles the man), there are times when Moth entertains the idea as opposed to denying it, so I’m wondering just how wholly truthful it is.
Still, aside from that, while The Salt Path is well-acted – particularly from the two leads – it really drags; and despite the film counting the miles as they go, they don’t even complete the journey onscreen, and a series of captions summarises their conclusion!
I can see this film generally fulfilling the role of ‘Cozy Sunday-afternoon TV filler’, although to get the 12-cert, they’ve thrown in a few, unnecessary f-words. I expect these scenes had alternate versions filmed for television/airline purposes.
NOTE: There is NO mid- or post-credits scene.
The Salt Path is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on Blu-ray and DVD.
You can also buy Raynor Winn’s novel in Paperback and Kindle formats.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 115 minutes
Release date: May 30th 2025
Studio: 2.39:1 (first scene, then after 30 mins); 1.85:1 (first 30 mins)
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 4/10
Director: Marianne Elliott
Producers: Peter Hampden, Kristin Irving, Elizabeth Karlsen, Beatriz Levin, Lloyd Levin, Norman Merry, Thorsten Schumacher, Stephen Woolley
Screenplay: Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Novel: Raynor Winn
Music: Chris Roe
Cast:
Raynor Winn: Gillian Anderson
Moth Winn: Jason Isaacs
Grant: James Lance
Polly: Hermione Norris
Bea: Megan Placito
Doctor: Angus Wright
Sealy’s Partner (Chris): Robbie O’Neill
Rowan: Rebecca Ineson
Trina: Sasha Frost
Sealy: Gwen Currant
Tom: Tucker St. Ivany
Nick: Tamlyn Henderson
Shopkeeper: Bern Collaço
Ice Cream Lady: Pippa Hinchley
Boss: Lainey Shaw
Alice: Kyiah Ashton
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.