The Road

The Road
2009 - Dimension Films
Directed By John Hillcoat



SYNOPSIS

A man (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) struggle to survive in a post apocalyptic wasteland where all plants and animals have died... and cannibals are looking for food.



MY THOUGHTS

A bleak and dark novel is perfectly captured on the big screen.

The film is very faithful to the powerful novel by Cormac McCarthy. In fact, I swear some of the images from the film were taken directly from my imagination when I read the book. Nothing much is changed. The story isn't lightened up to get a bigger box office, nor are any extra scenes added of scares/suspense for the same purpose.

The Road perfectly conveys many of the themes of the novel, nature of humanity, hope/faith, and survival. The film also retains the book's ambiguous cause of the apocalypse.

The cinematography is amazing, carrying the bleak tone of the narrative. Everything is gray, cloudy, rainy, dirty and decaying.

Viggo Mortensen is a great actor and his performance here ranks among his best. Surprisingly his character's young son, Kodi Smit-McPhee, is every bit as good. Both are Oscar-worthy. The character's bond is so strong, they seem like a real father and son duo.
Robert Duvall pops up for a few scenes almost unrecognizable, covered in muck, as does Guy Pearce. They are two of the very few characters who interact with the father and son. Charlize Theron appears in flashbacks as Mortensen's wife.

A bleak film with a powerful message of hope and perseverance despite overwhelming odds.



The Book