The Road Movie Review

An inspiring father and son story derived from 2006 Pulitzer Prize novel from Cormac McCarthy is brought to life by director John Hilcoat and screenwriter Joe Penhall in “The Road”. After a long wait, the film has finally arrived at box-office to tell the tale of an unnamed man and his son’s struggles to survive a catastrophic world at the edge of falling apart. Originally it was set to release last year however due to some internal delays, the screening date had been moved one year later. Apparently the transfer seemed advantageous for the film to serve as a lighter alternative to the action-packed “2012”.

Set in America 10 years after being hit by a devastating tragedy, Viggo Mortensen together with his 9 year-old son, Kodi Smit-McPhee roam the lands with an agenda to make it to the warmer coast in search for food and shelter. Flashbacks show the boy being born by mother Charlize Theron a year after the event that shook the world to despair. Growing up, the only life the boy has ever known is scavenging the lands for scraps of leftover to pass off as food. His eyes were opened to a wasteland world where there is no food, no animals, no plants, and a gray ash clouding the sky. The terrible situation turns majority of the humans into cannibals in attempts to survive. Mortensen repeatedly emphasizes to the boy that they are the “good guys” who would never resort to eating their own kind.

Director Hilcoat creates an amazing picture of the world gone wrong. His scenery appropriately depicts a landscape of abandoned and looted homes, deserted freeways with abandoned cars, and charred trees veiled by a damp fog of soot and ashes. This setting creates the perfect atmosphere for the actors to thrive upon. Even audience would be taken aback by the world they never thought would crumble. Even the characters are dressed filthily and appeared haggard.

Mortenses deserves applause for the heartbreaking yet fiercely determined performance he delivers for the sake of his only child. The father figure he has set is so inspiring that audience could feel his attempts to provide a normal life filled with love for his son emanating past the screen. Meanwhile he is complemented by young actor Smit-McPhee who opens his character with a mix of vulnerability, innocence and courage.

Readers of the novel would find the screenplay completely faithful to the original.