Starring Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall, Charlize Theron, and Guy Pearce
Directed by John Hillcoat
Directed by John Hillcoat
I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road last year and it really got me started on this "I should read more" kick. I truly enjoyed the book -- McCarthy created a tale about an apocalypse with heart. Unfortunately, it's the heart and compassion that really feels like it's missing from the film adaptation. It's not that the film in and of itself is bad -- in fact, it's quite a well-crafted movie all around -- it's just that the book's hopeful soul is nonexistent.
Somehow, Earth has fallen to shambles. The sun no longer shines. All life -- trees, animals -- has died. Ash constantly falls. Earthquakes are a common occurrence. The few human survivors hunt for whatever nutrition can sustain them...even if that means resorting to cannibalism. However, a nameless father (Mortensen) and his nameless son (Smit-McPhee) will not resort to eating their fellow man and instead are on a constant search for food, shelter, and safety.
That's it. That's the story. It's surely a simple premise as we watch the man and boy travel across barren wastelands having awful things happen to them in the process. They're traveling south seemingly because that's what the man's wife (Theron) told them to do before she died. It seems that the father's dreams of his wife are pushing him on this journey...that and his strong desire to not have anything bad happen to his son.
Yes, the film certainly depicts a father's love for his son and vice versa. But the heart and soul that were in the novel seemed to be missing. And it's not that it was Viggo Mortensen's fault. He, once again, proves that he's one of the great actors of our generation (seriously, everyone should watch his badassery in the flick Eastern Promises). The love and devotion for his son certainly come through. And as his son, the young Kodi Smit-McPhee plays the role with a child-like innocence that worked to a tee. To some, the son may seem too innocent for his own good -- but to me, even though he's seen some horrific things, his father's love has somehow shielded him from the world around him. Born after the apocalypse occurred, the son's never seen anything outside of what his father has shown him -- no tv, no movies, no radio. I can see how some would be annoyed with the soft-spoken son, but it seemed spot on to me.
And as far as that missing "heart" goes, it's definitely there in a scene where the father and son come across stockpile of food in an underground shelter. That scene -- the one happy moment in the movie -- had everything that I was looking for in this movie. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie didn't have that sense of hope for me.
I realize I'm probably not making a lot of sense with this one, but I'm gonna post it this way anyway (it's 3am...). Once again, it's not that this movie was bad...in fact, the story itself was a decent adaptation. Something was missing, though. Maybe in a day or two I'll realize what that "thing" was.
Somehow, Earth has fallen to shambles. The sun no longer shines. All life -- trees, animals -- has died. Ash constantly falls. Earthquakes are a common occurrence. The few human survivors hunt for whatever nutrition can sustain them...even if that means resorting to cannibalism. However, a nameless father (Mortensen) and his nameless son (Smit-McPhee) will not resort to eating their fellow man and instead are on a constant search for food, shelter, and safety.
That's it. That's the story. It's surely a simple premise as we watch the man and boy travel across barren wastelands having awful things happen to them in the process. They're traveling south seemingly because that's what the man's wife (Theron) told them to do before she died. It seems that the father's dreams of his wife are pushing him on this journey...that and his strong desire to not have anything bad happen to his son.
Yes, the film certainly depicts a father's love for his son and vice versa. But the heart and soul that were in the novel seemed to be missing. And it's not that it was Viggo Mortensen's fault. He, once again, proves that he's one of the great actors of our generation (seriously, everyone should watch his badassery in the flick Eastern Promises). The love and devotion for his son certainly come through. And as his son, the young Kodi Smit-McPhee plays the role with a child-like innocence that worked to a tee. To some, the son may seem too innocent for his own good -- but to me, even though he's seen some horrific things, his father's love has somehow shielded him from the world around him. Born after the apocalypse occurred, the son's never seen anything outside of what his father has shown him -- no tv, no movies, no radio. I can see how some would be annoyed with the soft-spoken son, but it seemed spot on to me.
And as far as that missing "heart" goes, it's definitely there in a scene where the father and son come across stockpile of food in an underground shelter. That scene -- the one happy moment in the movie -- had everything that I was looking for in this movie. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie didn't have that sense of hope for me.
I realize I'm probably not making a lot of sense with this one, but I'm gonna post it this way anyway (it's 3am...). Once again, it's not that this movie was bad...in fact, the story itself was a decent adaptation. Something was missing, though. Maybe in a day or two I'll realize what that "thing" was.
The RyMickey Rating: B
On the way home I remembered when they went down into the basement of the house... You know the scene.
ReplyDeleteI was feeling genuine dread during that. Even though or maybe especially because i knew what was comin'.