Review: The Road

What matters a man's name at the end of the world? A man's title. His wealth. When the world is gone, the only thing that matters is survival, and the bonds forged in a previous lifetime. The Road, an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's seminal work about life after the planet has been destroyed, is a powerful, soul crushing tale that will shake you to your core.

The planet has been left for dead. Some sort of global cataclysm has left it barren. Nothing grows. The population nearly wiped out except for what seems like handfuls of people, and most of them have been reduced to savages. Cannibalism has become a way of life for some, as well as herding people like cattle for future consumption. The skies are forever a murky shade of grey. The Man(Viggo Mortensen) seeks to save his son, The Boy(Kodi Smit-McPhee) from another winter in their delapidated old home. They set off on a journey, bouyed by some vague notion of finding "good people" like themselves.

The Wife(Charlize Theron) is seen mostly in flashback. She doesn't quite share The Man's fragile optimism. She's been beaten down utterly by the unending hardship and hopelessness.

The Man's sole purpose for living is to protect The Boy. Protected by a single gun with two bullets, it's reason for existence is two-fold: for defense, and as a final escape if the prospect of living another moment becomes too painful. They run into a few individuals along the way, in particular the Old Man(Robert Duvall), who help shape and mold their outlooks along the way. Let's just say, The Man and The Boy experience something of a role reversal over the course of their journey in more ways than one.

Director John Hillcoat previously directed one of my favorite films of the last few years, The Proposition. The visual look and feel of which is very similar to this one. Dry, desolate landscapes that seem to stretch on til forever, and an unshakeable feeling of dread permeate every scene.

Viggo Mortensen is pitch perfect as the doggedly determined father. Reduced to little more than skin, bones, dirt, and cracked teeth, he shows a depth of spirit in the face of despair that is inspiring. But it was Kodi Smit-McPhee as The Boy that truly carries this film in my eyes. The Boy's growth and maturity from the beginning of the journey to the end was truly an eye opener. This film is essentially a love story, not in the typical sense, but of a love between a father and son. The Man is never far from The Boy's sight, every hug and caress tinged with the possibility that it could be their last.

At times the film is perhaps a little too much. There are no breaks. Only a couple brief moments of sheer happiness, which almost always give way to something awful looming around the corner. Cormac McCarthy's book is far worse, from what I hear. At times, you can feel that they want to take the film version further, or that elements of the book have been left on the cutting room floor but to me it wasn't much of a distraction.

The Road isn't going to make any one jump for joy. It's an often painful ride, but one worth experiencing at least once, if not for the wonderful performances by all involved and the way the story manages to encapsulate the things that are truly important in life. For me, I'm not sure it's a movie I want to revisit too often. It'll probably go on my list of amazing films I only saw once.
8/10