If stories about the end of the world were n’t fun to explore , then there believably would n’t be so many of them . recall ofThe Walking Dead , for example . No one would really desire to live in a zombi - filled postapocalyptic hellscape . But it can be very enjoyable to look on the human characters fight back and polish off the walkers . The Roaddoesn’t have anything like that in its imagination of the apocalypse . There are no zombi to down , nor thrilling adventures . alternatively , it ’s one of the bleakest pic to undertake the postapocalypse because it offer little hope for the consultation or the primary characters who have to live in this world .
That may be why audiences did n’t flock to seeThe Roadwhen it hit 15 age ago this calendar month . It only made a trivial over $ 8 million domestically and around $ 27 million worldwide against a $ 25 million budget . While those numbers do n’t add up to a bang , it does n’t mean thatThe Roaddidn’t leave a strong impression behind . It ’s based on the book of the same name byCormac McCarthy , the author who antecedently wroteNo Country for Old Men . The pic is n’t as highly regarded as the novel , but theater director John Hillcoat and screenwriter Joe Penhall still get the essence of the story and the hard questions that go with it .
Make no mistake : The Roadis an improbably depressing story . Perhaps too uncheerful for most masses . But there ’s more than enough artistry in this film to appreciate it on its own terms rather than judging it for not following a more conventional course .
Viggo Mortensen gives an intense performance
As the two primary quality throughout the film , The Roadbelongs to Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit - McPhee as the unknown Father of the Church and his son . Both actors are excellent in their part , but Mortensen merit extra extolment for the level of intensiveness that he add to the role . The father is so wrapped up in his desire to protect his boy that he does n’t always recall how to have sex him as a son .
Mortensen is belike best - known for his leading role inThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy , where he played an unambiguously heroic character name Aragorn . The father could not be further off from that theatrical role .
Mortensen carry himself with a sensation of despair at all fourth dimension , and there ’s a wild looking at he get in his center whenever anyone dare to near him or his son . The Father-God has good reasons to reverence other citizenry , and Mortensen do the consultation feel that during every potential menace or showdown .
Charlize Theron has a brief but memorable role
Mad Max : Fury Road‘s Charlize Theron does n’t have a braggy purpose in The Road compared to Mortensen or Smit - McPhee . But she command attention during her flashback sequences . Theron toy the son ’s mother and the wife of Mortensen ’s type . Unlike her husband , the female parent is n’t consumed with hold back the category together or even keeping herself live . She plainly need out of this world on her own terms .
The mother has a bigger part in the film than she does in the volume , which is belike due to Theron ’s condition as a leading woman . It ’s a variety that was at last for the good .
Humanity is in short supply
The story gets a lot of tautness out of the distrust that the father has for strangers , especially regarding the safety of his son . Unfortunately for the leading characters , the father has valid reason to be so cautious . The first people they encounter in the film are precisely the kind of group that should be avoided at all cost . That leads to a scary minute where the male parent has to settle in a split second how he can protect his boy and himself .
Because confidence is in such short supply , the father does n’t have much mercy for others … especially if they ’ve dare to threaten his son or slip what small they have left . This is one of the reasons why the film is so hard to find out . The Word at times makes his father show some humanity to others . But the breakdown of relationships between people as a mintage makes this a humankind that ’s difficult to watch .
The ending offers more hope than the novel
We ’re not belong to spoil the specifics of the end here , except to say that the closing of the rule book and the movie are reasonably close except in one regard . There ’s a mortal who is introduced in the ledger who makes certain claims about who he is and what he wants . Whether he was assure the truth may be more ambiguous in the textbook than it is on screen .
In the picture , it ’s less likely that this person was lying because he is n’t alone . Although that removes a set of the uncertainness from the view , it ’s also the closest thing to a happy closing that this movie was ever going to get .
The Roadis probably too stark for recur viewing , but it is an effective story that stands out from similar movies and idiot box appearance . For that reason alone , we ’d commend watching it at least once .
WatchThe Roadon .
