Dimension Films | USA | 119 min
The Road is a mostly successful adaptation of a truly masterful novel. While some aspects fall flat due to the film being faithful to a fault, it still works as a whole for the most part. Viggo Mortenson’s excellent performance, Hillcoat’s distinct vision for a violent world, and a few moments of pure poetry make this a worthwhile journey.
The Man (Viggo Mortensen) and the Boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee) are caught in a post-apocalyptic world striving for survival. The Man only carries a pistol with a few bullets for defense and avoids contact with others. The world has turned into turmoil with most people looking out for their own gain, most notably the cannibals. They travel by day on the road where they’re heading South. The Man is sick and he knows it. His main goal is to keep his boy alive and get him to a safe place. Along this journey they face psychopaths, a well hearted old man, and a few moments of pure darkness.
The main issue with the story is that there’s very little deviation from the episodic source material. While that worked splendidly in that medium, here it makes for a messy narrative. At times, the film feels like a string of events tied together in a choppy fashion. Thats the true gripe to be found in an overall compelling tale of a heartfelt relationship. There’s always a sense of dread and a mystery of what’s coming next. Underneath all the darkness still in-lies the message of hope that McCarthy beautifully achieved. While that theme still has impact, it unfortunately comes off more ham-fisted in a heavy exposition reliant way. The “carrying the fire” monologue is done in a overwrought manor towards the end and lacks a deep emotional punch.
To no surprise, Mortensen delivers another compelling performance that drives this film. While his excessive coughing does become tiresome and less than subtle, overall he’s fantastic. During the moments of tension and drama he crafts a fully involving character. Mortensen also succeeds due to the fact he contains a believable dynamic with Kodi Smit-McPhee. McPhee makes plays the scared and unbeknown child in a saddening way. Its obvious that this is a kid who’s only lived in this world and doesn’t comprehend the true joys of life. McPhee’s more dramatic moments may not always hold gravitas, but he still makes for a character thats easy to care for.
John Hillcoat brings along a lush and beautifully bleak aesthetic that fits the film’s tone perfectly. While he’s partly to blame messy narrative, he also deserves credit for all the brighter spots of the film. Hillcoat captures the poetic and somber nature of the story perfectly. While he keeps that tone mostly throughout, he also maintains the main uplifting message. Similar to his previous film The Proposition, he portrays human nature in a realistically violent way. It may not feature the same gut wrenching violence from the novel, but it still shows the main idea of what extreme environments do to people.
The Road never truly reaches it’s fullest potential, but Hillcoat has still made a film that stands alone and works on an emotional level. There’s still plenty of shortcomings that come from the fragmented narrative, but ultimately there’s still enough moments of pure poetry that makes The Road work.