The real Road Warrior. Mel Gibson, eat your heart out.
The Road
starring Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Garret Dillahunt, Charlize Theron
directed by John Hillcoat
Film is flooded with numerous director’s visions of how the world will look after the apocalypse. Many are filled with mutants and odd creatures, fast paced and gruesome action sequences, or romances with aliens, etc. From classics like The Road Warrior to new wastes of time like 2012, it seems the whole idea of the end of the world really makes box office gold. But none come as disturbingly close to realism like Cormac McCarthy’s book The Road. If something truly horrible happens to the world and our way of life is brought to a close, this volume gives the most vivid and probable look at what that life would look like to the survivors. Not an easy task to take as a director making a film, but John Hillcoat gives us a vision both shocking and original.
Something terrible has happened to the world. A reason is never given; we only see fires burning from outside windows and occasional but massive earthquakes. All that we do know is this: government is not more; all of the animals and vegetation are dead; most of the world’s population is gone; all technology is either dead or at a standstill. Plus, there is what Papa (Mortensen) calls the great fear: Cannibalism. After losing his wife, a tormented man known only as Papa attempts to take his Son (Smit-McPhee) south along the road to warmer climates to find other survivors and food. However, it is not that simple. The pair only have a shopping cart with meager supplies, little food, and a torn map. They sleep on the ground and in caves. They search abandoned stores and houses for whatever necessities they can find. But most of all, they try to avoid the ‘bad men’ that have resorted to eating their fellow man. Everything depends on Papa and Son making it to the southern coast.
The film doesn’t pull any punches. From the get go, you’re exposed to the harshness of the new way of life that these two people must live in. The look of the film is so grey, grim, and gritty and it is almost depressing. However, it fits the mood and the feel of what’s going on in the scenes. The score is not much more than a few peaceful and slow orchestra and piano pieces, but it fits so well in between the unsettling silence of the better part of the film. Half the battle to do this story well was to get the feel of the movie right, and I believe Hillcoat brought it masterfully to the screen. Don’t look for your standard Hollywood entertainment; this is the real end of it all.
The acting was spot on. Young newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee is a small powerhouse of emotion. He ranges from happy and playful little boy to a depressed and sobbing young man to a somber and knowing adolescent. Most adult actors don’t have the range that Smit-McPhee achieved in this film. Viggo Mortensen, as is usual, also masterfully played the role of Papa. Not only did he look the part with dirty and matted beard and scrawny body, but he radiated the emotions of a broken man trying to make the most out of a hopeless situation. I fear that his role will be overlooked when it comes time for the Academy Awards, but I believe he deserves an Oscar nod for the work he put into this story.
Perhaps the most moving part of the whole film is the striking parallels of human character. When faced with a choice of survival, there are two different kinds of people. As Papa and Son move through the homes along the way, they find the remains of suicides. These people had given up hope and didn’t want to live in what the world was becoming. On the other side, there are the survivors like Papa. But there are also the people who will survive at any cost, including cannibalism. Papa runs across a house with a locked basement that is holding capture people waiting to be eaten by their captors. Its a horrifying situation, and its further disturbing thinking what it takes for a person to take a step over that line. The film has such striking things to say about the human condition when all rules and hope have been taken away. But there is the constant reminder in both Papa and Son, that there are still good people in the world that will manage to find some semblance of hope in a hopeless world.
The Road is a simple story on the surface, but when you look deeper you find that it is a profoundly touching look at the human spirit. Its a father teaching a son how to live in a world that encourages you to die. Its a father trying to impart to his son how to be a man in a world where that doesn’t mean anything anymore. It may be a downer, but I urge you to look beyond that and see the glimmer of hope in the human spirit. Few films these days are works of art, but John Hillcoat managed to take a literary classic and turn it into a masterpiece of film art. But that will also be to its detriment; its not for everyone. People will go to see it expecting Mad Max and will leave disappointed. Know what you’re seeing before you go into it, reader. Its not recommended for everyone, but for those of you who do see it and understand it, you’ll be the better for it.
A Post-Apocalyptic Roadtrip
The real Road Warrior. Mel Gibson, eat your heart out.
The Road
starring Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Garret Dillahunt, Charlize Theron
directed by John Hillcoat
Film is flooded with numerous director’s visions of how the world will look after the apocalypse. Many are filled with mutants and odd creatures, fast paced and gruesome action sequences, or romances with aliens, etc. From classics like The Road Warrior to new wastes of time like 2012, it seems the whole idea of the end of the world really makes box office gold. But none come as disturbingly close to realism like Cormac McCarthy’s book The Road. If something truly horrible happens to the world and our way of life is brought to a close, this volume gives the most vivid and probable look at what that life would look like to the survivors. Not an easy task to take as a director making a film, but John Hillcoat gives us a vision both shocking and original.
Something terrible has happened to the world. A reason is never given; we only see fires burning from outside windows and occasional but massive earthquakes. All that we do know is this: government is not more; all of the animals and vegetation are dead; most of the world’s population is gone; all technology is either dead or at a standstill. Plus, there is what Papa (Mortensen) calls the great fear: Cannibalism. After losing his wife, a tormented man known only as Papa attempts to take his Son (Smit-McPhee) south along the road to warmer climates to find other survivors and food. However, it is not that simple. The pair only have a shopping cart with meager supplies, little food, and a torn map. They sleep on the ground and in caves. They search abandoned stores and houses for whatever necessities they can find. But most of all, they try to avoid the ‘bad men’ that have resorted to eating their fellow man. Everything depends on Papa and Son making it to the southern coast.
The film doesn’t pull any punches. From the get go, you’re exposed to the harshness of the new way of life that these two people must live in. The look of the film is so grey, grim, and gritty and it is almost depressing. However, it fits the mood and the feel of what’s going on in the scenes. The score is not much more than a few peaceful and slow orchestra and piano pieces, but it fits so well in between the unsettling silence of the better part of the film. Half the battle to do this story well was to get the feel of the movie right, and I believe Hillcoat brought it masterfully to the screen. Don’t look for your standard Hollywood entertainment; this is the real end of it all.
The acting was spot on. Young newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee is a small powerhouse of emotion. He ranges from happy and playful little boy to a depressed and sobbing young man to a somber and knowing adolescent. Most adult actors don’t have the range that Smit-McPhee achieved in this film. Viggo Mortensen, as is usual, also masterfully played the role of Papa. Not only did he look the part with dirty and matted beard and scrawny body, but he radiated the emotions of a broken man trying to make the most out of a hopeless situation. I fear that his role will be overlooked when it comes time for the Academy Awards, but I believe he deserves an Oscar nod for the work he put into this story.
Perhaps the most moving part of the whole film is the striking parallels of human character. When faced with a choice of survival, there are two different kinds of people. As Papa and Son move through the homes along the way, they find the remains of suicides. These people had given up hope and didn’t want to live in what the world was becoming. On the other side, there are the survivors like Papa. But there are also the people who will survive at any cost, including cannibalism. Papa runs across a house with a locked basement that is holding capture people waiting to be eaten by their captors. Its a horrifying situation, and its further disturbing thinking what it takes for a person to take a step over that line. The film has such striking things to say about the human condition when all rules and hope have been taken away. But there is the constant reminder in both Papa and Son, that there are still good people in the world that will manage to find some semblance of hope in a hopeless world.
The Road is a simple story on the surface, but when you look deeper you find that it is a profoundly touching look at the human spirit. Its a father teaching a son how to live in a world that encourages you to die. Its a father trying to impart to his son how to be a man in a world where that doesn’t mean anything anymore. It may be a downer, but I urge you to look beyond that and see the glimmer of hope in the human spirit. Few films these days are works of art, but John Hillcoat managed to take a literary classic and turn it into a masterpiece of film art. But that will also be to its detriment; its not for everyone. People will go to see it expecting Mad Max and will leave disappointed. Know what you’re seeing before you go into it, reader. Its not recommended for everyone, but for those of you who do see it and understand it, you’ll be the better for it.