The Road (2009)

Hey, a year after it was supposed to, this movie finally happened. Exciting. Based on Cormac McCarthy's acclaimed novel, The Road tells the story of a man (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they cope with the apocalyptic wasteland left after some unexplained global tragedy. Hoping to find a better life in the warmer south, they travel down a major highway scavenging for food and supplies, trying to avoid being killed by the new breed of cannibals that has arisen. The man viciously protects his young son and does his best to impart important knowledge to him in case he dies before they make it. The tale itself is sparse and ambiguous, focusing mainly on their relationship and struggle for survival, all in the wake of the mother's (Charlize Theron) death months ago.

I have to admit that while I recognize the book's merit and emotional impact, McCarthy's choppy writing style and slow-moving narrative structure threw me off when reading it. I couldn't fully get into it, probably mainly because the central relationship between father and son is something I can't at all identify with. It is a very manly book. That being said, I think Hillcoat and Co. did a good job adapting the story into a visually interesting and heartfelt film. The performances are excellent (though everyone's filthy and exceptionally gaunt appearances made me squirm), with Mortensen and Smit-McPhee able to convey a lot without a large amount of dialogue. Though her role was small, I enjoyed Charlize Theron as well, and it was nice to give the mother more depth and action (she wasn't really in the book).

The vast, ashen wasteland is realistic and detailed, and basically exactly as I imagined it. Be aware that this is a very bleak film, in both looks and plot. But it's beautiful in its own way, with evocative performances and an intelligent approach to human relationships. There was a little thing at the end that they added that I found kind of weird and unnecessary, but otherwise it's quite true to the source material, and more engaging to me than the novel (probably that's like blasphemy to some people, but I can't help how I feel).

4/5