The Road To Despair.

Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce and Kodi Smit-McPhee
Director: John Hillcoat
Genre: Fantasy Drama
Running time: 111 min

Reviewed by Jasyn Howes
Rating: ****/5

With the first gray light he rose and left the boy sleeping and walked out to the road and squatted and studied the country to the south. Barren, silent, godless. He thought the month was October but he wasn’t sure. He hadn’t kept a calendar for years. They were moving south. There’d be no surviving another winter here.

Extract from Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.

Doom, gloom…brilliance.

Studios weren’t biting at the bit to adapt Cormac McCarthy’s novel “The Road”. This may come as a surprise given the success of his other novel’s big screen adaptation, the crime thriller “No Country For Old Men”, but given the books morbid theme it seems plausible as to why they saw no hope for an adaptation.

But for producer Nick Wechsler, who initially bid for the rights to “No Country For Old Men”, it was a chance to immortalize his favourite author’s Pulitzer prize winning novel onto the big screen. He, along with producing partners Paula Mae and Steve Schwartz, knew that “The Road” would make a fine film, thus optioned for the rights to the novel whilst it was still in manuscript form.

The book, as with the film, is not suitable for mass consumption yet is essential to our current state of existence as it speaks directly to our humanity and our severe impact on the natural world. Not by any means a tale of the end of days, but more so a journey into the primal bonds of parenthood, survival and what it means to be alone, “The Road” terrifies audiences as it unravels the binding layers of our modern age leaving behind a barren landscape filled with dangerous encounters.

A man (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) travel south by foot through a post-apocalyptic American landscape in search of greener pastures. There are few left alive after an inexplicable series of events has killed off all of the animal and plant life forcing the survivors to fend for themselves in a world without rules. There is no concept of time as each day blends into the next, without the warmth of the sun or the smell of clean air.

We enter their journey at a pivotal point, one that has by now stripped the father of his love of life fighting only to protect his link to his former life, his son.
Scouring for food and shelter the pair come across those who choose to feed on their fellow man, and those who like themselves possess the “fire” of morality and truth. With only each other to rely on, and the tainted memories of a mother and wife (Charlize Theron) who abandoned them to suicide, they travel on with the hope that somewhere in the distance is a refuge from the sadness.

It’s not hard to tell that in the making of this film strong bonds were formed between the various cast members and crew alike. It comes across in the visceral performances by Viggo Mortensen and his incredibly talented young co-star Kodi. There isn’t a single moment throughout the entire film that you don’t believe the bond they share as not only father and son, but also travelling companions on a dark and treacherous journey. This element of the film relates to us all, raising similar questions with all to similar answers.

What’s more is the clever use of CGI that is tastefully generated not to highlight what may have caused this mass destruction, but more so as a tool to illustrate the state of the world they now call home. The pallet is very dark with lots of grays and blacks that often make it difficult to watch the film, directly affecting your mood and making the very sight of colour a pleasure to behold.

Viggo, specially selected for the role due to his ability to immerse himself in his characters and feed off of his surroundings, offers the performance of his career. Having spent a considerable amount of time researching and preparing for his role as The Man, he creates a strong, moody father figure that you’d imagine would survive the apocalypse.
Behind the camera the directing talents of John Hillcoat are duly noted. Having only directed a handful of films in 20 years he brings to “The Road” a clear understanding of the subject matter, adding his own sense of style yet remaining true to the novel’s tone. I am still to meet a person who has read the novel, that hasn’t found the film just as compelling, if not more.

Although strongly aimed at an American audience, with the setting and the premise fixated on the nations past and former glory, the film has numerous universal elements that many can relate to and find meaning within. Issues of parenthood, sacrifice, solus and abandonment are glanced over throughout the 111 minutes but none more important that the ideal of maintaining ones humanity in even the direst of situations.

Those strong enough to watch this film, and appreciate its morbid realism, will find a story that defines our potential for both good and bad. Once you look past the depressing aspects, noticing the glimmer of hope the story offers, there is little that doesn’t make this film a worthy companion to McCarthy’s Pulitzer winning novel.