First 'No Country For Old Men,' ... now 'The Road'
Chris Moskaly
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Reviews
There has never been a more stunning or more absorbing vision of the post-apocalypse than that of "The Road." Whether it be the eerie cinematography of a hopeless world left in ruins, the near-perfect page-by-page adaptation, or Viggo Mortensen delivering the performance of his career, director John Hillcoat embraces every single aspect in Cormac McCarthy's acclaimed novel, making "The Road" one of the most powerful motion pictures I have ever witnessed.
The opening shots penetrate the narrative almost immediately into the dark atmosphere where we see a Father (Mortensen) and son (Kodi Smith McPhee) walking through a desolate landscape that has become buried underneath endless canopies of ash. To hear McCarthy describe these images in the book is one thing, but to see all of it come alive on the big screen is so chilling, you can practically feel the blood drain from your face within seconds.
The world ended 10 years earlier, and while the film never explains what exactly happened, several ideas are hinted at in a series of flashbacks. It is also through these distant memories that we are introduced to the man's wife (Charlize Theron), and how she couldn't bare to witness the inevitable demise of a world that just suddenly "burned out." This is the only point where the film takes a notable shift from the novel by providing a deeper background on the mother. I'm sure some of the extra attention is due in part to Theron's reputation. But nevertheless, her extended presence in no way shape or form overshadows the strong theme of dependency that carries the two males as they must survive a long journey to the coast.
Shooting on location in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Hillcoat and his production team have created a stellar vision of what happens when fate makes its final move, and all senses of hope are literally washed away from existence. There's no power, no vegetation, and no food. All that's left is a little amount of questionably sanitized water, and a few survivors who have been pushed to the limits of human instinct, and will do anything to stay alive.
The opening shots penetrate the narrative almost immediately into the dark atmosphere where we see a Father (Mortensen) and son (Kodi Smith McPhee) walking through a desolate landscape that has become buried underneath endless canopies of ash. To hear McCarthy describe these images in the book is one thing, but to see all of it come alive on the big screen is so chilling, you can practically feel the blood drain from your face within seconds.
The world ended 10 years earlier, and while the film never explains what exactly happened, several ideas are hinted at in a series of flashbacks. It is also through these distant memories that we are introduced to the man's wife (Charlize Theron), and how she couldn't bare to witness the inevitable demise of a world that just suddenly "burned out." This is the only point where the film takes a notable shift from the novel by providing a deeper background on the mother. I'm sure some of the extra attention is due in part to Theron's reputation. But nevertheless, her extended presence in no way shape or form overshadows the strong theme of dependency that carries the two males as they must survive a long journey to the coast.
Shooting on location in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Hillcoat and his production team have created a stellar vision of what happens when fate makes its final move, and all senses of hope are literally washed away from existence. There's no power, no vegetation, and no food. All that's left is a little amount of questionably sanitized water, and a few survivors who have been pushed to the limits of human instinct, and will do anything to stay alive.
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