"The Road" (Viggo Mortensen) - Discussion and Grading

[Daneel]

After seeing its release date pushed back several times over the past year, The Road, based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men), finally opens in North American cinemas this week.

Fortunately, I didn't have to wait this long -- I saw it in September at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.

So, how is the film? I thought it was great. Very powerful, very moving, and depressing as hell. Make no mistake, this is not an "entertaining" movie -- it's bleak and uncompromising. Not an enjoyable picture, but one well worth seeing.

The film follows a father (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they travel the wasteland of America after some unspecified catastrophe has caused civilization to collapse and left most of the population dead. Every day is a struggle to stay alive: food is scarce and many of the survivors have become violent and desperate -- some have even turned to cannibalism. The two head south towards the coast, hoping to find a land of safety and stability, but will they make it? And if they do, will they even find anything?

Mortensen does his usual sterling work here as a man who will do anything to protect his son -- including killing the boy if it looks like there is no escape from the thieves, murderers, rapists, and cannibals around them. His son is everything to him; in fact, one of the things I found most interesting about the character is the implication that the boy is the only link he has left to his own humanity. It is only because of his son that he shows any kindness or decency to anyone else. Others may have a different impression, but I couldn't help but wonder if the man would still be so far removed from the dangerous individuals they encounter if his son wasn't around.

Young Kodi Smit-McPhee does an admirable job in the role of the son -- he and Mortensen are in almost every scene in the movie, and they both deserve great acclaim for the physical and emotional endurance that must have required. There are a few times when the kid kind of grates (particularly when he keeps shouting "Poppa! Poppa!"... although it may just be me), but overall, his performance is solid.

Charlize Theron plays Mortensen's late wife (who appears in several flashbacks); her role, as someone who, unlike her husband, has given up on life, is brief but effective. Plus, I personally thought there was a bit of a facial resemblance between her and Smit-McPhee, so that was a believable bit of casting there. Other performers of note include Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce (the latter of whom I almost didn't recognize).

I admired John Hillcoat's direction -- the grimy and chilly atmosphere serves the story well, and there is almost a strange sort of twisted beauty in the desolated landscape. I must confess, I don't remember the score too vividly, but I think it was effectively haunting.

Quibbles: the film does get a little bogged down in its own heaviness at times. It's hard to explain, but it occasionally seemed like the filmmakers were trying too hard to make the movie poignant and meaningful. I guess one could say that it just felt a little calculated in certain parts.

Nevertheless, I heartily recommend The Road -- I found it to be a well-crafted and emotionally gripping film. If you see this at the cinema, it will not be a fun experience, but it might very well be a rewarding one.

Grade: A-

The Road at IMDB

The Road at Rotten Tomatoes

 

[RJDiogenes]

I read this book last year or the year before. It was one of the most, if not the most, unrelentingly bleak stories I have ever read; it was, however, excellent, and I highly recommend it if you have the stomach for it.

I wonder if they kept the same ending in the movie.

 

[davejames]

Glad to hear you liked it. A lot of critics are saying that it's too emotionally remote and distant, but frankly that doesn't bother me all that much. A lot of great, classic films could be described that way (2001 being one).

 

[Level 2 Diagnostic]

I gave it a B, very well made, but I wasn't sure exactly what it was trying to say. In the end I felt like I was watching people suffer for the sake of watching people suffer.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The previews give the impression that the film actually shows the disaster that destroyed the environment. Does it? If so, what is it? Nuclear war? Terrorist attack?

 

[AnyStar]

my dad gave me this book a while back, although i heard from everyone who read it that it was great, i never got around to reading it. mainly because i've kinda "had it up to here" with post-apocalyptic drama...

maybe i'll crack it open

 

[Admiral_Young]

I read the book a couple weeks ago and cried at the ending of it...one of the first books I've read in the past two years that has made me cried. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie.

 

[Lookingglassman]

POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!




I read the book a while back and only remember something about them using a matress to hide under in a hole and how it ended. I read a quick synopsis of the book again to refresh my memory, but I don't remember some of the stuff I read in the synopsis. I am looking forward to the movie. I am assuming there was a nuclear war, especially because of the ending when the dad dies after coughing up blood all the time. I figured he got radiation sickeness or had cancer. I was also thinking about an asteroid strike, but I figure something that big to cause the amount of devestation present would have killed off all life so there would be no humans left.

 

[Daneel]

I wonder if they kept the same ending in the movie.

I believe they did, yes.

Glad to hear you liked it. A lot of critics are saying that it's too emotionally remote and distant, but frankly that doesn't bother me all that much. A lot of great, classic films could be described that way (2001 being one).

Hm... emotionally remote and distant? I don't really know where that complaint is coming from -- I certainly wouldn't describe it as such.

The previews give the impression that the film actually shows the disaster that destroyed the environment. Does it? If so, what is it? Nuclear war? Terrorist attack?

I've seen those previews too... it really makes me wonder who the heck they got to put that trailer together. No, the film does not show the disaster that devastated the world. There's one flashback of Viggo looking out a window and seeing some sort of fiery glow, implying that the catastrophe was beginning just then -- that's as close as the film comes to showing what happened.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

There's one flashback of Viggo looking out a window and seeing some sort of fiery glow

Hmmm. Looks like it could be some kind of nuclear conflict, then. Gotcha. (Probably not a terrorist attack, given the near absolute devastation...)

 

[Endymion]

I thought it was pretty good. My full review is right here.

 

[Gaith]

The previews give the impression that the film actually shows the disaster that destroyed the environment. Does it? If so, what is it? Nuclear war? Terrorist attack?

In a nutshell... right-wing Christianity.

McCarthy is a politically conservative American Christian, and while I don't know much about his personal views, I do know that his theological milieu (quite understandably) interprets the Book of Genesis as saying Earth and everything on it was pretty much created entirely for humans. (And in the End Times as described by Revelation, the planet as we know it is pretty well blown up, also.)

The Road is about the decline and near-death of humanity as a species, ergo, McCarthy has nature mirror its decay. Of course, the only natural phenomenon that could even come close to devastating nature in such a way would be a massive K-T style asteroid impact. But that wouldn't suit McCarthy's purposes, because observatories would see that asteroid coming, and the enlightening effects of science have no place in his theological domain.

Obviously, I find the whole premise juvenile and morally unsound at best, and I'd rather revisit the far superior Children of Men any day.

 

[Sagart]

I saw this today, thanks to being on holiday in LA. I found it incredibly moving. While it is bleak and in one particular scene, horrific, it was life affirming in a way I didn't expect, not having read the book. Viggo's performance is incredible but so is the young actor playing his son. Robert Duvall is heartbreaking in a cameo role. The atmosphere generated in the movie is haunting, the music, set design, photography all add up to perhaps the best movie I've seen this year. Solid A.

 

[23skidoo]

The previews give the impression that the film actually shows the disaster that destroyed the environment. Does it? If so, what is it? Nuclear war? Terrorist attack?

They better not. One of the whole points of the book is that this is left unexplained (besides war and terrorism, a meteor impact and an ecological disaster are other possibilities).

This thread is actually the first I've heard that the film is FINALLY coming out. I haven't seen a single TV ad, or newspaper ad or even review of the thing. For a film that, when it was first announced, was aiming for all the big Oscars, they've decidedly underplayed it. That doesn't bode well.

Alex

 

[Daneel]

^^^^^^
No kidding. I'm very disappointed to see that, after all the delays this film has had, it's only playing in 111 theatres (I don't know if they plan to expand its distribution in the coming weeks or what). And yes, the advertising has been pitiful -- marketing geniuses, the Weinsteins aren't.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Of course, the only natural phenomenon that could even come close to devastating nature in such a way would be a massive K-T style asteroid impact. But that wouldn't suit McCarthy's purposes, because observatories would see that asteroid coming

But they wouldn't be able to do anything about it, would they? Even if we launched all the nukes in the world they wouldn't hardly make a dent in the thing.

 

[Gaith]

^^ No, but humans would still see the calamity coming, and knowing its source would rob the story of the allegorical atmosphere that is its raison d'être. In Biblical terms, humanity knows nothing about anything beyond what it is told, which is when and how to pray.

It'd also get people asking distracting questions about whether an impact which such serious effects (constantly gray skies for years) wouldn't have wiped out all life entirely.

And yes, the advertising has been pitiful -- marketing geniuses, the Weinsteins aren't.

Given how pricey advertising is, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were making exactly the right call be starting out small and seeing if it catches on. In these tough times, people may be flocking to see pretty pictures of handsome people surviving a popcorn friendly, dog-sparing 2012 apocalypse, but it's very easy to envision a wide release of this movie going out not with a bang but a whimper.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

In Biblical terms, humanity knows nothing about anything beyond what it is told, which is when and how to pray.

And that has to do WITH THIS FILM...what, exactly?

(So what if Cormac McCarthy's personal views are what you say they are? Which, I might add, there doesn't seem to be any proof of? )

 

[Gaith]

In Biblical terms, humanity knows nothing about anything beyond what it is told, which is when and how to pray.

And that has to do WITH THIS FILM...what, exactly?

Well, it's being specifically promoted to evangelical audiences, which might give some clue as to how the producers perceive its tone and content:

This holiday season, with the help of a local pastor, "The Road" may indeed get a following of Christian moviegoers prepared to use the dark and grisly tale as a tool for examining their own faith and reaching out to friends and neighbors who are less biblically inclined.

At least that's the hope of studio executives and Phil Hotsenpiller, teaching pastor at Yorba Linda Friends Church. Hotsenpiller, at the request of the film's producers, has created a faith-based discussion guide for the film and recently returned from a series of screenings for religious audiences across the country.

The film may also be appealing to certain religious markets because of its post-apocalyptic theme.

"It's inline with what evangelical Christians are quite keen on, particularly their sense that the end of the world might be near," Hubbard said.

Ross' firm decided Yorba Linda's Hotsenpiller was a natural choice to work on the project. He's the creator of a new graphic novel series, "Armageddon Now," which combines an action plot with biblical concepts.

And as the teaching pastor of an evangelical megachurch, Hotsenpiller hosts an annual Prophesy Conference on Labor Day that draws upwards of 7,000 people each year.

And while McCarthy's personal beliefs may be unclear, there's no denying that his books' themes are deeply associated with religious metaphors and sentiments.

I've read spoilers for the book and movie; if it had something clear and substantive to say, I'd have heard about it. Though it may not be as straightforward a doctrinal screed as the Left Behind series, but I for one submit that the parallels are clear.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

I'm glad it's finally here. I thought the book was incredibly moving, and it's one of the best I've ever read. I look forward to seeing the film.