Review: The Road

Plot: Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, The Road tells the story of a father and son (Viggo Mortenson, Kodi Smit-McPhee )struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic United States.

Review:

It is a very rare instance when a film can capture the essence of the novel it's based upon, but The Road is one of those films. Top notch acting, stark landscapes, brilliant cinematography, a compelling story, and a haunting score all make The Road one of the best films of 2009. Incidentally, it was also one of the most overlooked. For the life of me I can't understand why this movie was completely bypassed at Oscar time.

The most compelling element of Cormac McCarthy's novels is their ability to strip away all ostentation, all excessive description, all puffery to create something true and real, something that resonates with the reader. Director John Hillcoat has been able to do the same thing with The Road film that Cormac McCarthy did with the novel. The two main characters don't even have names, they are simply The Boy and The Man.

Although The Road film does has some differences from the novel, such as flashbacks of The Man's wife (played brilliantly by Academy Award winner Charlize Theron) Hillcoat chose, wisely, to keep the main focus of the story on the relationship between The Boy and The Man. Yet this relationship wouldn't work at all if not for the fantastic chemistry between Mortensen and Smit-McPhee. Audiences are used to seeing Mortensen as heroic (The Lord of the Rings), protective (A History of Violence), and even malevolent (Eastern Promises). In The Road we see another side: vulnerable. In a world gone dark and dreary, The Man constantly emphasizes to The Boy the need to "carry the fire inside" and look out for the "good guys." Mortensen runs the gamut of emotions from fiercely protective, to joking, to despondent, to hopeful. The results are fantastic. The scene where The Man contemplates killing himself and The Boy to avoid being eaten by cannibals is just as poignant as when the two discover a hidden deposit of food. In fact the juxtaposition of these two scenes makes Mortensen's performance that much more powerful.

Not to be outdone is Mortensen's acting partner Smit-McPhee. It is staggering to me that a then twelve year old could hold his own with Viggo Mortensen, but he's successful. In a particularly memorable scene Smit-McPhee convinces his suspicious father to let an old man (Robert Duvall) join them for dinner. Amongst all the horror is a boy's mercy. The follow-up scenes between Mortensen and Duvall are nothing short of brilliant. It's amazing when an actor of Duvall's caliber can come in for a few minutes and completely nail a scene. Duvall's cameo only added to an already fantastic film. Additionally, there was also a scene in the film where Smit-McPhee was actually crying because of the horrible weather conditions but he went with it and played the scene out. How many actors at any age could do that? This is just a taste of what the young Australian actor has to offer. (He'll be seen later this year in the horror film Let Me In.)

The weather conditions also served to enhance the film as well. Dank rains, fires, constant ash, and the general grimy nature of the future, feature prominently in McCarthy's novel. Cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe's captures the stark landscapes and dreariness of the novel in a way that I didn't think was possible. Hillcoat chose not to use CGI in The Road either, lending another layer of realism to the film. Much like Gotham City in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, editor Jon Gregory made the world of The Road a character in and of itself.

Equally impressive is the haunting score of composers Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. A movie's score should reflect the overall tenor of the film and the music of The Road does just that. Often times sad, sometimes harrowing, and occasionally uplifting, Cave and Ellis's music complements The Road perfectly.

While some may come away from The Road depressed and forlorn, I urge you to look deeper. If you do you'll find what I did; a rich story full of hope and promise, an amazing relationship between a father and son, and a gripping visual work that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

My rating: 10/10