THE ROAD

DIR: John Hillcoat
(2009)

'The Road' is just that; a bleak and endless road, a journey for self preservation in the midst of the uncontrollable breakdown of civility and civilisation. The post-apocalyptic world in which we're unfairly presented offers little to no redemption for the 'good people.' Between the destructive nature of what can only be described as a literal Hell on Earth are the survivors, specifically a young boy and his ever endearing protective father who offers up this to say of his only son: "If he is not the word of God, then God never spoke."

Adapted from the novel of the same title by the author of 'No Country For Old Men' Cormac McCarthy, we are shown at least to me realistically what would happen if there was no food, little shelter, and all wildlife and crops had been wiped completely from the world. What is one left to do, it all seems to come down to instinct: survive. But why? Why bother living in such a ridiculous existence? Many did give up, and what was the biggest emotional impact for me, an exact and pure example of this is shown midway in the film. Heading south the father and his son are determined to reach the coast just in the hope of some sort of salvation being there. But along the way all the find is hardship, they are constantly watching their backs. Many have turned to cannibalism to survive, gangs of 'bad people' roam the landscape looking for people to murder, rape and devour. It is shown many times that suicide is the preferred option over capture.

'The Road' features two of the best actors in Hollywood, Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron. Mortensen's performance is outstanding, whereas Charlize Theron's role was way to short for any real praise. This is the kind of film that should have been made 10 - 15 years ago but luckily provides a refreshing experience amongst the backwards step Hollywood has seemed to have taken in recent years. Though, that's not to say there isn't an abundance of good films being released just that I should be able to sit back and enjoy a 2 hour slow moving drama about the day to day struggle of survival and this is exactly what I got.

Before viewing this film I was made aware of a lot of religious elements. It fits really well within the context and in my opinion is not overdone as I was lead to believe, and actually challenges the ideas of spirituality. It shows us that man's belief in God and an afterlife is all he has left when faced with death and destruction. And without such hope there is nothing, a justification the 'bad people' would surely need.

Many times during the screening I couldn't help but feel correlations between this and M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Happening' which I am aware many despise. But I guess what appears to be the main difference is that instead of nature being intent on killing humans, 'The Road' offers us a movie in which nature is killing itself.

There isn't much to take away from this movie, but that's not a bad thing considering the subject matter. What we are given is an accurate portrayal of what would happen if you were to wake up early, look out your window and witnessed Armageddon.

7/10