The Road
Friday, November 27, 2009 at 08:40AM ;)
The apocalypse is something that film makers love to portray, from the machine wrecked landscapes of the Terminator series to the vicious gangs of Mad Max they all seem to have their own visions of the future but let me tell you only John Hillcoat director of The Road has captured my vision of it. For those of you out there with tiny little brains and absolutely fuck all knowledge The Road is an adaptation of the book by Cormac McCarthy and for once I hadn't read it so for the first time in a long time I was able to enjoy a book to film with no expectations. Now I use the word enjoy loosely as to be honest there is little to enjoy about The Road as it is not a happy tale. Feel good film this is not so if Love Actually is your type of thing then I would avoid this like a sailing holiday around the coast of Africa.
So what is The Road about exactly? The Man (Viggo Mortensen) travels a post apocalyptic world with his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they struggle to survive against cannibal gangs, food shortages and harsh landscapes. The great thing about The Road is it's never explained why the apocalypse has happened so unlike most films nowadays it's left to your own imagination to ponder how or why and this adds to the overall beauty of the film. Now if you've even seen the trailer you'll be calling me a cock now for using the word beauty to describe The Road as how can all that bleakness be beautiful? That's the funny thing about it really. After I saw this on Wednesday night I with many others commented on how bleak and depressing the film was but on reflection it is in fact so much more. The landscapes are very bleak, yes but these are just a backdrop for the importance of the father/son relationship portrayed throughout.
Regular readers to FOF know that I've had a tough year and one of the things that this has affected is my relationship with my young son. As a father I watched The Road wondering just how far would you go as a parent to ensure the future of your children? Would you protect them no matter the cost? The answer to this obviously lies with the individual but myself I would do anything to protect my boy. There are times when you watch The Road and you flinch at the brutality of the boys father and think to yourself what a nasty bastard but is he just preparing his son for an inevitable life without him? His son also at these times brings a softness to the relationship as he reasons with his father over certain issues. The Road offers so much more than just a bleak view of the future. Hillcoat not only uses the landscapes to their full effect but the fleeting characters are powerful and stay long in the mind, in particular an awesome turn by Robert Duvall as the old man. Throw in Nick Caves understated score and I believe this film should be Oscar baiting.
That last sentence may seem like a strange thing to say but The Road is one of those films that gives you an initial reaction but stays with you and makes you think and so few films do that nowadays. Most of the time I just leave a cinema with a fucking headache. As always Viggo Mortensen gives his usual superb performance but it's Kodi Smit-Mcphee who steals the show as he gives something way beyond his years and I honestly believe after seeing most of this years major films that he should get an Oscar nom. It matters not to me if you think me a little mad for that thought because as always my opinion is the one that matters. The Road is due in the UK on January 8th and if you've got the stomach for it after the excitement of Christmas then it's an absolute must see but be be warned at times it's just uncomfortable to watch.
A Truly Great Film out of 5
Reader Comments (5)
Can't wait for this – great review D-man!
It's a fantastic film. One of the best I've seen in a long time.
The landscapes are very bleak, yes but these are just a backdrop for the importance of the father/son relationship portrayed throughout.
That's what I took from the novel as well. The apocalypse is just the context to a story of a man who chooses to live only so his son can live. Sounds like a pretty faithful adaptation.
Great review Drunken one. It was indeed fucking bleak, but a great thinker. Certainly gave us something to think about and discuss until the early hours!
Completely contrasting to the tripe that was 2012, which I saw the following day.
I urge you to see it Sandy as from what I gather it gets the book which as we know is unusual. At the heart of it all though is hope and love.