17-07-2025
I tried living the Brad Pitt fantasy: just a man and a van
I n his latest film Brad Pitt is a perfectly formed middle-aged man's fantasy. He plays the racing driver Sonny Hayes, who is handsome, brave and lives totally alone in a van. It's a wanderer's life without emotional commitment or guttering repairs. That's why I'm spending some solo time in an RV, far from home. I want a brief, sample taster of this freedom business, like a yoga retreat but with an engine and a chemical lavatory.
The heroic figure with no permanent address, no responsibilities and a life of endless adventure has a strange grip on the collective male imagination and I'm not immune. As a teenager I saw Clint Eastwood ride into town wearing what looked like a piece of carpet and the dream was in place. Then there was Jack Reacher, who owns nothing but his folding toothbrush and the clothes he stands up in. Now Pitt has made van life look like the ultimate expression of masculine independence.
