Based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy of the same name, Viggo Mortensen plays a desperate father traveling across a barren wasteland that was once the United States trying to protect his child. All of nature is dying. The humans are the last living things. Desperate humans turning to cannibalism and violence stalk the streets. All hope seems gone, but Man and Boy, who's names we never learn, perservere.
The catsatrophe that ends the world is never explained, but the muted colors and decaying landscape leave little to the imagination. The world is literally falling to pieces. The landscapes are so striking, not due to characteristics, but rather the lack of them. Its hard to believe that it once was ever livable. It is by far the most impressive and fear-driven depiction of the end of the world that I have ever seen.
Mortenson and his son, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, shoulder all of the pathos, not an easy task, but the two perform beyond expectations. Mortensen is a seasoned veteran and there is nothing that surprising at how well he performs, but McPhee is still a rookie, yet he shows such incredible promise. The emotional and physical range necessary for the role is almost unseen in actors that young. Unfortunately the other cast members, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, and Garret Dillahunt are barely appear in it. Their roles could only be called cameos. Not that they didn't leave a lasting impression. Their characters showed the tragedy of the world up close and personal to the Man. Theron losing all hope, Duvall's broken down old man, and Dillahunt's desperate criminal paint an incredibly specific picture with little screentime they had. Guy Pearce was most underused. His character was a mystery, but I am not sure if that was the point. He seemed like he was meant to be a glimmer of hop, yet he still felt like an untrustworthy rogue. When it is revealed he had been following the two protagonists from the very beginning, it raises questions as to what his final goal was.
The Road's biggest obstacle is its tone. It is depressing and slow-moving, but not without reason. Everything about the tone goes to building the depression and dread that makes the movie great and makes the glimpses of humanity in the Man and Boy that much more special. But the runtime is pretty long for such a slow-moving picture. It can become very distracting.
The Road is an incredibly dark and depressing post-apocalyptic tale, a dystopia that seems all too realistic. It is a story full of love, hope, horror, and adventure. It is just too bad it feels too much like a chore to watch.
8/10
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