Review: The Road
Alison MillerIssue date: 11/25/09 Section: Movies
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Starring Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Charlize Theron
Directed by John Hillcoat
Rated R
Grade: B-
Not long after the release of "2012," a film that featured a whole lot of special effects and crashing buildings, "The Road" takes a completely different approach in the life of a post-apocalyptic world.
And let me just say, it is pretty damn dark and depressing (and it doesn't involve John Cusack trying to save the world).
Based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, "The Road" follows the journey taken by a father (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) across a barren landscape.
In this world, civilization is almost nonexistent. Food, water, and shelter are sparse, and the few survivors left on Earth have taken to cannibalism.
However, the father and son (who are not given names in the film) are determined to remain the "good guys" and plan to travel toward the ocean in hopes of finding a better life.
Along their journey, the duo cross paths with the "bad guys" on several occasions, and in one instance stumble upon the prey that they feast upon, a basement full of malnourished people with missing appendages.
While the previews advertise several well-known stars in the film, don't be fooled. Mortensen and Smit-McPhee are really the only main characters. Charlize Theron appears briefly in flashbacks as the mother of the boy who chose to end her life early rather than live in this dark world (and honestly, I don't really blame her). An unrecognizable Robert Duvall also stars in the film as an old man the father and son run into.
But even though the abundance of other characters are few and far between, Mortensen and Smit-McPhee, who both are noticeably thin for their roles, give incredibly strong performances and become the driving force behind this otherwise slow-paced story.
There are some annoying product placements (Coca-Cola, Cheetos and Vitamin Water to name a few) in a scene when the father and boy find shelter stocked with food. But, "The Road" is definitely an intriguing look at what could come (if you happen to believe in the whole 2012 scenario), how far you would go to survive and what you would be willing to sacrifice.
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