The Road

The Road was released in Canada on September 13, 2009 at the Toronto International Film Festival. The cast is pretty small, and the name to drop in this one is Viggo Mortensen. Robert Duvall and Clarlize Theron also drop in for brief periods throughout the film.

The film is adapted from Cormac McCarthy novel. You will remember his work in 2007 in No Country for Old Men. However, No Country was either a profoundly better written book, or the Coen brothers were much more skilled in adapting the screenplay. That said, it was not without merit. The plot revolves around a father and son pair, who have survived some unidentified apocalyptic event. Most of the survivors of the catastrope have apparently committed suicide, and those who remain have devolved to rape, murder and cannabalism. It is a story about survival, determination, hopefulness, and morality in the midst of madness. It is also a story that brings no pleasure whatsoever in the watching.

This film has been identified by some to get some Oscar attention. The Golden Globes, which generally are as comparable to the Oscars as the WWF is to the Olympic Games, have nominated The Road for exactly nothing. In this case, I hope the Academy concurs. Mortensen was good, but not great. Kodi Smit-McPhee, the youngest performer, was very good. But there is no Oscar category for young actors, and his performance does not warrant a nomination in any of the mainstream categories. If the screenplay makes the top five in the adapted category this year I will be shocked... and depressed about what else is out there. All of that said, the cinematography and makeup were both very good, and nominations may be forthcoming in these categories.

The Road is not a movie you will regret having missed.