The Road (Dimension Films)
Long, Winding, Depressing and Uplifting
The Road is a movie based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy, who also wrote the novel upon which No Country For Old Men was based. Some would argue Mr. McCarthy has a bleak outlook for the future of our country and for humanity in total, but in this new film his story does have an optimistic tinge to it.
The story is set in the future after an apocalyptic event has occurred. The world is surrounded by a grey cloud cover and vegetation has been stripped form the planet. It is a cold, barren landscape on which little of humanity is left and for those who have survived the future is dim.
A man (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) are on a road headed south. It is a dangerous route they are taking as cannibalistic groups are searching everywhere for food. If the man and the boy are caught they could be killed and eaten. The man is not so much worried about himself as he is for the boy. He will do anything to protect his son.
In flashbacks we get a view of the mans life before the apocalypse occurred. He lived with his wife (Charlize Theron) and they were eagerly awaiting the birth of their child. Then the unthinkable happened and now it is just the man and the boy.
The film is depressing to say the least but somehow there is hope in the mans devotion to his son, and also through the boys unwavering determination that he and his father are the good guys. He knows they are carrying the fire of hope within them. He seeks assurance from his father of these facts all through their journey.
There are moments of action in the film but mainly it is a slow steady trek to an unknown future. Occasionally they meet random strangers on the road such as a thief (Michael K Williams), an old man (Robert Duval), and a member of a gang (Garret Dilahunt). All interact with the man and the boy but to no avail.
Mortensen is incredibly believable as the man. He looks and acts the part of the gaunt man who is surviving solely because of the love he has for his son. As the boy Smit-McPhee is also exceptional. He wins over the audiences heart from the first moments he is seen on screen and never loses their favor.
The film is rated R for profanity, violence and nudity.
The Road is not a film that everyone will want to see. Its intensity is staggering and its tone is dark and depressing. You will leave the theater looking for any glimpse of sunlight you can find. Still for those who stick with it there is that shred of optimism that permeates the story. And it is that which gives the film its balance.
I scored The Road a long and winding 7 out of 10.
