Movie Review: The Road
by Jarret Green ~ December 14th, 2009. Filed under: Books, Movies, Review.
The signs were all there: a severely delayed release; a less-than-inspiring, action-focused trailer; the casting of A-list stars in a minor roles; an unproven director; a limited release for a big-budget film; and the overwhelming challenge of adaptation. We ignored them, and this is what we saw.
There was all that positive feedback from festivals, after all.
John Hillcoat’s film version of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is currently in select cities. As with all adaptations, there are two groups of concern: those who have read the book and those who have not. The former group will instantly be impressed by the visual realization of another post-apocalyptic America, this one hardly recognizable, although featuring on-location shots, including post-Katrina New Orleans. The visual effects are seemless, giving the audience an authentic experience, furthered by the drab color pallet. If the novel (or Fallout 3) was your previous high-water mark for depicting The Wasteland, you’ll be impressed.
McCarthy fans may be distracted by a surprising amount of product placement and the need to flesh out the characters, resulting in the tastefully scarce but effective use of Charlize Theron (although she is a bit of a scene-stealer—appropriate concerning her significance to the main characters). Kodi Smit-McPhee as the boy is not as likable as his prose counterpart, but Viggo Mortenson is brilliant as the father.
Perhaps the movie’s biggest weakness for readers is it’s lack of originality. While the script gives the novel its much-deserved respect, it provides nothing new for those familiar with the text, other than striking visuals. That’s worth the price of admission, but it’s hard to strongly recommend this to fans. Michael Haneke’s Time of the Wolf is probably more worth your time.
Newcomers to The Road should know that this is not an action movie, although some scenes are suspenseful and fast-paced. By the third act, the mostly-faithful plot has wound down, focusing more on ideas and the hopeless dread of life in such a world. Unlike Mad Max, Zombieland, and even the Fallout series, there is no humor to be found in this world. Horrible things happen. There is little hope. Suicide is often the only rationale option. Yet there is more than gray skies and distant explosions to experience.
Like No Country for Old Men, The Road is an allegory, one even more significant in the wake of Obama’s election and against the current health-care debate, or the eternal “Man is Good”/”Man is Evil” debate. The novel is a must-read for anyone who can tolerate the tone. The movie, however, may be best viewed by those interested in post-apocalyptic (or post-modern—Waiting for Godot, anyone?) storytelling and anyone who can find hope and positivity in such a story.
December 14th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
I think I’m going to wait for this to be on DVD. I have an easier time with heavy movies like this when they are on the small screen.
I am going to look for the novel next time I hit up half-priced books.