Sam Saw: The Road

A few weeks ago I finally took the plunge and saw the film adaptation of "The Road"...



Before I start, I should mention that Cormac McCarthy's "the Road" is one of my favorite books. That being said, I had a lot of expectations for the film version, so I was a bit hesitant to finally go see it.

The Road is almost one hundred percent faithful to the novel. The film follows a boy of roughly ten and his father (played by Viggo Mortenson), both unnamed, as they wander through the wasteland of the former United States after a undefined cataclysm. The world of "the Road" has a lot of the same feel as the one constructed for 2006's Children of Men. Both settings really embody a distinct feeling of hopelessness aided heavily by an incredibly gray color scheme. The story centers around the dialogue between the boy and his father as well as they try to cope with the world as it lies before them. The father struggles with the knowledge of what the world once was as well as how to survive this new one. Cannibalism, murder, rape and starvation are just a few of the perils he and the boy face every day.

The movie does a good job of never letting you feel like the characters are safe, so there is always a good amount of tension. Furthermore, we are made privy to the fact that the man plans to kill his son should any of the above mentioned fates appear to be inevitable, so there is another level of tension throughout the film as we wonder if each situation will force the man to kill his son out of mercy.

The setting aside, what was really important about the book was the relationship between the father and his son. Everything else is interesting, but when it comes down to it, the story is just about a father and his son and how they interact with one another in the most desperate circumstances. I was a little worried that the depth of this relationship might some how be diminished when "the Road" made its way to the screen, but this wasn't the case.

Upon hearing "the Road" was being adapted to film, my number one worry was that there wouldn't be chemistry between the actors who play the boy and his father. All my fears were put to rest after the first five minutes. Viggo Mortinson and Kodi Smit-McPhee have amazing chemistry, and their emotions towards one another throughout the film are absolutely believable. The other actors who comprise the small cast of "the Road" are equally impressive. Charleze Theron reminds us that she can act again after trying to force us to forget in Hancock, even if she's really only on screen for a few minutes.

There are a number of other actors who take on small rolls including Michael K. Williams who you might remember as Omar from the wire as well as Guy Pierce. Robert Duval also appears in a cameo, which may be the only true weak point of the movie. His acting is actually wonderful. It's the fact the he is Robert Duval that causes problems. He has such a minor roll and is on camera for so brief a time, that there is really just not enough time for him to fully meld with the character, so when we are supposed to be listening to an old man tell his story to the boy and his father, all we can see is Robert Duval. It's really too bad because a lot of what made "the Road" great up until that point was feeling like you were in that situation with those characters and that you were experiencing everything they were. Then along comes Robert Duval for five minutes and you are brutally reminded that none of what you are watching is real. I honestly think a much worse and unrecognizable actor would have been a much better choice. As far as I can see this hiccup is the only real fault to the film.

What you have in "the Road" is exactly what you have in the novel: an incredibly bleak and depressing setting in which a father an son try to persevere. Whether you enjoy the film or not is entirely based on your ability to relate to the father and son, and how they act in the desperate situations they encounter. I'm of the opinion that the book as well as the movie either work for you or don't. Either you can understand and sympathize with the character's actions or you can't. The film's success hinges almost entirely on its watchers ability to see themselves in place of the boy and father. If you can, you will find an incredibly emotional and moving story, if not "the Road" can appear to be nothing more than two hours of gray landscape and depression.

Grade: A-