Within a span of a couple of weeks there have been two end of the world movies; 2012 and The Road.
Two films are at opposite ends of the cinematic spectrum. 2012 treats the event as a special effects, popcorn munching, carnival ride. All surface glimglam with contrived drama to elicit an emotional response.
The Road takes the more steadfast approach and the most interesting one. The honest one. Special effects are minimal in this one. The tone and pace is deliberate. And unyielding. The focus is on people. Not wanton destruction of recognizable landmarks. The Road is an examination of the human spirit and its will to survive even in the bleakest of situations.
Based on the bestseller of the same name by writer, Cormac McCarthy, this is the next cinematic adaptation of the author’s books; the previous being, ‘No Country For Old Men.’ The Road is a stripped down story. The world is dying is given. Hints are given to the cause but no definitive explanation is ever brought forth. That is not what the story is about. It is about the human spirit. Never are names used. Instead we are given archetypes. Father. Boy. Mother. Good Guys. Bad Guys.
The bulk of the movie lies on the ever dependable shoulders of Viggo Mortensen, whom struggles with providing his son a moral framework to live within. A moral framework which is tested time and time again as the Father struggles with their survival against the moral code he preaches to the Boy.
The Road is naturally enough a road movie. Across the blasted landscape of a country, the film is shot is documentary style. The visuals are grainy. The colour palette almost monochromatic. The ground is grey. The sky is grey. The ocean even greyer. Dull. Lifeless. Yet occasionally the monotony is relieved by a brief flash of colour or a discovery of something once mundane from before that is now considered a treasure. A found can of pop for example.
Strangers on The Road are treated as bad guys. Food is hard to find. Cannibalism becomes a viable choice for many survivors. It is a heart breaking journey of discovery for the Boy in this death world. There is very little to cheer about or hang onto for hope. The overwhelming tone of hopelessness is crushing. Yet in the relationship between the Man and the Boy there is something to cling to. There is a fire within that cannot be vanquished.
This is what The Road is about. Wet eyes were in great evidence at my viewing. A bittersweet journey. But a journey worth taking.
