Grim "The Road" Looks At Post-Apocalyptic World From Different Angle

(RTTNews) - On the other side of the typical light-hearted holiday releases is "The Road," a dark but compelling tale of a father and son trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. Favoring gritty details over thrilling special effects, "The Road" is a strong adaptation of renowned author Cormac McCarthy's book, even if it isn't quite as insightful. With some startling imagery and chilling sequences, director John Hillcoat shows quite well the fine line between hope and despair, placing the characters' motivations above action to create a unique take on the post-apocalyptic film.

Before we even really know much about the Man (Viggo Mortensen) and Boy (Kody Smit-McPhee), who are never named in the film, we see the lifeless world they inhabit. The skies are an endless gray and the world feels to be dead, or on the precipice. Everything is moist and breath is seen clearly. Very early in the film, the Man and his son are huddling in the cold outdoors trying to sleep, with only a few scraps of clothing to keep them warm. They are surviving in a place that no longer seems meant to harbor life.

We learn through a couple of well-placed flashbacks that not long ago, the Man had a pretty wife and a cozy home. In the Man's head, images of his old life flash into existence when he has time to think - just blips of soft color that juxtapose sharply with his dull and dark world. In the present, however, his only goal is to keep alive his son, who was born around the time that natural disasters started striking the Earth.

Unlike the recent "2012," all of the actual apocalyptic details - the earthquakes, tornadoes and tsunamis - take place in the background. For these characters, it doesn't make a difference what happened, as they are alone against a cold world in which those who are still alive are scavengers. Many have even resorted to cannibalism, which doesn't appeal too much to the Boy. They survive on beetles and whatever canned goods they can stumble upon. The Boy thinks that a can of Coke more than a few years old is a treat and he's never even heard of a Big Mac.

Their lives consist of endlessly trekking through the mud, looking for food and trying to avoid anyone else, mainly because even the non-cannibals are just as likely to kill you and take everything you have. Amidst this macabre backdrop, Mortensen is perfectly low-key as a man who is only tough when he has to be. Most of the time he whispers and pleads with his son to follow him, almost as if he's hoping the Boy will want to continue on. The Man seems to be getting slowly worn down by the bleakness of his world, which inches him closer to despair while he tries to inspire hope in his son.

But what makes the film work is that it unflinchingly stays true to its characters. Even the intense sequences are not meant to be thrilling like your usual action movie, though the material could have gone that way in the wrong hands. For the characters in the film, coming out victorious during a conflict is not important, as surviving is the only goal. Pride has nothing to do with it.

There are also some inspired small roles that give the film extra depth. A barely recognizable Robert Duvall plays a derelict old man who inadvertently tests the morality of the Man. Charlize Theron is hardly on the screen as the Man's wife (only called Woman) but makes her words count, cutting to the core of their dilemma. While the Man wants to give it a go and try to survive as a family, she looks at the situation with brutal reality and counts the shells they have left in the handgun.

But while "The Road" provides deep and thorough characterizations, it never takes off into something more as the early segments suggest it might. With a novelist of McCarthy's abilities, it's difficult to find the right angle to bring the story to life on the big screen. The Coen Brothers found the perfect tone for McCarthy's "No Country For Old Men," blending their own quirky humor with the story. "The Road" director John Hillcoat doesn't add much to the material himself outside of the illuminating imagery, which finds beauty in the bleakest of landscapes.

"The Road" is commendable in that it never tries to be what it's not, retaining its credibility by stressing character psychology over action. This isn't to say action doesn't have its place in post-apocalyptic movies but a "Mad Max" style shootout would have been wrong for the story. Mortensen proves once again that he is a character actor first and a movie star second, putting him on the short list of risk-taking big named actors. "The Road" is a tough watch but also a rewarding film that legitimately questions what human beings are capable of once survival is an issue. The answer, we find out, is quite a bit.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com
Copyright(c) 2009 RTTNews.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved