47. The Road
Yesterday was a complete waste. Between going out early to do a small bit of grocery shopping and waiting for Verizon to come and check out my phone, we just didn't get much done. And in the evening, we wound up having to evacuate the house due to idiotic neighbors setting off the smoke detectors for the whole building. Because of that nonsense, we only managed to get in one movie....
We started and ended with a screener copy of The Road. This movie is based on the 2006 novel by Cormac McCarthy. It stars Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Charlize Theron. It is set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland that used to be Earth. Some unexplained disaster has destroyed pretty much everything. Mankind, plant life and animals are all pretty much wiped out. The sun is obscured by a thick layer of ash, making the world a cold, gray place.
This is an excellent movie. It's dark, depressing and bleak. But goddamn, is it ever well done. The story follows Mortensen and Smit-McPhee as they head towards the coast. No character names are given. They are simply "Man" and "Boy". Along the way, they encounter thieves and cannibals, people just desperate enough to do whatever it takes to let them survive another day. The story is engaging but it's the cast that works magic. Mortensen and Smit-McPhee are great. Mortensen's performance as Man deserves an Academy Award nomination. As the film progresses, you see his struggle to keep positive while attempting to prepare the boy for the inevitable. Support is lent by Charlize Theron. Robert Duvall, Michael K Williams and Guy Pearce. I'm not going to lie, it took me a while to realize that Duvall was in the movie. The makeup rendered him virtually unrecognizable. And I had no idea that Guy Pearce was in it until viewing the movie poster earlier this morning. Again, just a tremendous job on the makeup.
The Road gets my highest possible recommendation. It is well worth the time spent. See it.
2 comments:
I don't think I've ever heard of this movie before. Maybe I live under a rock. It looks like something I'd like though. I read a novel kind of like this once and it put me in a funk for a few days because it was so bleak.
It had a very limited theatrical release back in November. At its biggest, it was playing on 396 screens and took in just under $8 million. It had been delayed for over a year prior to the release.
It's very bleak and depressing but just an excellent movie.
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