Recent Release Reviewed! The Road

THE ROAD

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce
Screenplay: Joe Penhall, based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy
Directed by: John Hillcoat

I've been waiting for The Road for a long time. I remember when it was announced, several years ago now, that The Proposition director John Hillcoat would be adapting the bleaker-than-midwinter novel into a film, and how excited I was. Things seemed to get better as the casting was announced: Viggo Mortensen as the Father! Robert Duvall as The Old Man! Guy Pearce as The Veteran! The cast was nicely rounded out by HBO character actor regulars Garret Dillahunt (Deadwood) as The Gang Member, Michael K. Williams (The Wire's Omar) as The Thief, and Molly Parker (also Deadwood) as Motherly Woman. I was midly surprised that Charlize Theron had signed on as the Mother, as she appears very briefly in the book. I had misgivings about the plans to expand her part, and when I discovered that the Weinstein brothers were involved in the making of the film. Then the delays started.

I got more worried when I saw the trailers. In the Weinstein's defence, The Road is a tricky film to market. Yes, it's a father and son bonding film...with cannibals. It's a gritty post-apocalyptic movie....where the violence is offscreen, and it's never clear what happens, and the Father shoots one person throughout the whole film. Anybody looking for I Am Legend can look elsewhere. The film moves at a slow pace, dwelling on the sheer bleakness (there's that word again) of the situation.

A quick run of the plot, such as it is: There has been an apocalyptic event, and the world is dying. Most of the human population are dead, and those that have survived are almost entirely savage and cannibalistic. Through this dead wasteland move the Father and his Son. The Father has pledged to get the boy to the coast in the south, but first they have to survive, struggling to find food and shelter and dodging roving gangs. Haunted by the memory of his wife, he forces himself to keep going for his son. But is there any point to his mission? And will they make it that far?

It's very episodic in structure, much like the book. The incidents occur when the two leads meet other people, and it must be said that the tension is somewhat lacking during the intermediate scenes. Why The Road works so well, then, is because of Mortensen's frankly stunning performance, and his chemistry with Smit-McPhee, who plays his son. We are told a lot on brief flashbacks about how the Mother abandoned the two of them, choosing death over survival, and how committed the Father is to protecting his son. "We carry the fire," he tells him. They are the good guys, and the good guys must keep going. It's heavy going, though. Good memories are killers, they tempt you to give up and simply mourn what you've lost. The key is to keep going, never stop anywhere too long. There's a wonderful quiet scene when the two find a bunker full of tinned food and drink. The father enjoys a glass of whiskey and a cigarette, and the boy stares at him uncomprehendingly. This is what his father looks like when he's relaxed.

The incidents that occur are superbly acted. Dillahunt is wonderfully odious, slurring promises and threats through stained and broken teeth, while Duvall pops up near the end as the old man Eli, who doesn't think about death because there's no time for luxuries. Pearce is good, but it should be mentioned his role is little more than a cameo, despite what the poster says. Theron is also excellent as the Mother, unafraid to be unsympathetic in the role that is the other side of the coin from Mortensen's. Hillcoat also uses these scenes to remind us just how dangerous the world has become. The scene in which the father and son enter a house only to discover something horrible in the cellar is just as tense as it was in the book.

The most consistent criticism of the film seems to be that it sticks to closely to the book, rendering it episodic and unnecessary. While this may be a valid criticism, the film definitely holds up on its own. Hillcoat creates stunning burnt-out landscapes, and the performances are excellent. Mortensen deserves an Oscar for his work here, and didn't even get a nomination. It's beautifully scored by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. As for the issue of being too close to the book, the double edge sword implied is frankly cruel. Penhall has done a very good job adapting the book, and the added scenes of the Mother work far better than I expected. If too much had been changed, McCarthy fans (and they are legion) would have been up in arms.



The Road isn't perfect, but it's an excellent adaptation of a stunning book. It's something of an emotional endurance contest, but it's definitely worth it.
8/10