Director: John Hillcoat
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Codi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce
Normally, I wouldn’t go outside the four corners of this blog and recommend something that is in no way related to the mission. But this movie affected me so profoundly, left such terrible scars on my psyche, that – after much deliberation – I’ve decided to break my own rule. It is quite possible that this will never happen again.
The movie is based on a book by Cormac McCarthy, who also wrote No Country for Old Men, adapted for film by the Coen brothers. (I have already ordered a copy of The Road and am awaiting its arrival with bated breath.) It follows a father and son who travel in a post-apocalyptic world, searching for the coastline and heading south, where the conditions may be more favorable for living. What befell earth is a mystery, but the destruction and devastation is complete. All life other than human has been apparently wiped out. The world’s forests are filled with burnt embers instead of trees. Existence has been reduced to a desperate struggle for food. Many, if not most, people who survive do so by practicing predatory cannibalism. It’s not just that human life has been wiped out; humanity itself is teetering on the edge of a bottomless precipice.
Don’t expect The Road Warrior when going to see this movie. Mad Max’s world is a carnival ride in comparison to what you’re in for with The Road. Be prepared for a place so bleak, so unthinkably brutal as to be almost without hope. It is in this setting that “The Man,” portrayed by Mortensen, tells his son that they are the “good guys” who are “carrying the fire inside.” But even the good guys face terrible choices in a world where everyone you meet is potentially seeking to rape and then consume your child.
“The boy is my warrant,” The Man says early in the film. And throughout the narrative, it is clear that his only purpose is in protecting the child from harm. But this protection also includes instructing the boy how to commit suicide with a pistol in a hopeless situation. “The Boy,” (played excellently by Kodi Smit-McPhee) is often the moral voice, the counterpoint to The Man’s natural impulse to violently oppose every person they come across. This dynamic is played out perfectly when the two catch a thief attempting to steal their food and worldly possessions.
Chalize Theron portrays “The Woman,” who we get to know through flashbacks and recollections of The Man. (Apparently, this aspect of the film is not present in the book.) Her performance is the essence of despair in the face of truly insurmountable odds and, like a horrific accident, is impossible to turn away from. Robert Duvall also has a wonderful cameo as “Old Man,” a decent person in a world of monsters who is basically waiting for his own death.
This movie is a work of art that offends and challenges the viewer’s sensibilities. It sat on the shelves for a year before release. I can certainly understand why. There is nothing easy about seeing this. But in the end, somehow, you leave knowing you’ve witnessed something special and strangely, sublimely beautiful.
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Codi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce
Normally, I wouldn’t go outside the four corners of this blog and recommend something that is in no way related to the mission. But this movie affected me so profoundly, left such terrible scars on my psyche, that – after much deliberation – I’ve decided to break my own rule. It is quite possible that this will never happen again.
The movie is based on a book by Cormac McCarthy, who also wrote No Country for Old Men, adapted for film by the Coen brothers. (I have already ordered a copy of The Road and am awaiting its arrival with bated breath.) It follows a father and son who travel in a post-apocalyptic world, searching for the coastline and heading south, where the conditions may be more favorable for living. What befell earth is a mystery, but the destruction and devastation is complete. All life other than human has been apparently wiped out. The world’s forests are filled with burnt embers instead of trees. Existence has been reduced to a desperate struggle for food. Many, if not most, people who survive do so by practicing predatory cannibalism. It’s not just that human life has been wiped out; humanity itself is teetering on the edge of a bottomless precipice.
Don’t expect The Road Warrior when going to see this movie. Mad Max’s world is a carnival ride in comparison to what you’re in for with The Road. Be prepared for a place so bleak, so unthinkably brutal as to be almost without hope. It is in this setting that “The Man,” portrayed by Mortensen, tells his son that they are the “good guys” who are “carrying the fire inside.” But even the good guys face terrible choices in a world where everyone you meet is potentially seeking to rape and then consume your child.
“The boy is my warrant,” The Man says early in the film. And throughout the narrative, it is clear that his only purpose is in protecting the child from harm. But this protection also includes instructing the boy how to commit suicide with a pistol in a hopeless situation. “The Boy,” (played excellently by Kodi Smit-McPhee) is often the moral voice, the counterpoint to The Man’s natural impulse to violently oppose every person they come across. This dynamic is played out perfectly when the two catch a thief attempting to steal their food and worldly possessions.
Chalize Theron portrays “The Woman,” who we get to know through flashbacks and recollections of The Man. (Apparently, this aspect of the film is not present in the book.) Her performance is the essence of despair in the face of truly insurmountable odds and, like a horrific accident, is impossible to turn away from. Robert Duvall also has a wonderful cameo as “Old Man,” a decent person in a world of monsters who is basically waiting for his own death.
This movie is a work of art that offends and challenges the viewer’s sensibilities. It sat on the shelves for a year before release. I can certainly understand why. There is nothing easy about seeing this. But in the end, somehow, you leave knowing you’ve witnessed something special and strangely, sublimely beautiful.
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