'The Road'

'The Road' (R) ***

Writer: Joe Penhall based on novel by Cormac McCarthy
Director: John Hillcoat
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-Mcphee, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Molly Parker, Robert Duvall

"The Road" is a difficult journey through a bleak and desolate post Armageddon World that is worth the trip because of two wonderful performances. The movie is based on a novel by who I think is one of our best modern writers in Cormac McCarthy. He is also responsible for the novel made into the Academy Award winning "No Country For Old Men". Here the material is harder to pull off for the novel is sparse with little dialogue but beautiful descriptions of the barren landscape that the two lead characters journey through. Most of the World has been laid to waste and there are few survivors left including a father and a son. The father is played by Viggo Mortensen in a beautifully measured and outstanding performance. He is proving again and again with subtlety that he is one of our strongest actors. The son is played by Kodi Smit-McPhee in a natural, unforced and great performance. The two actors have great chemistry and work well together. They encounter all sorts of people on their journey including cannibals who are called "Bad Guys" by the son as both try to figure out the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. The movie is not an action film though and it's goal is not really focused on eluding cannibals but it is about simple survival and about family.

Now I have read the novel and since I don't read as much as I should this is a rare occurrence of watching a movie of the book I did read. I loved the novel and found it poetic and suspenseful. There is little dialogue but you did feel a total understanding about this man and boy. After reading the novel I kept thinking there was no way they could make a movie out of this. After the movie I still feel that way and I find myself half right. I am actually amazed how great of a job Joe Penhall and John Hillcoat have done with this novel. The direction is sound, the photography is desolate but beautiful and there is a feeling of suspense and the characters are well developed. There is also a beautiful and stirring musical score that is just right. The only thing is I loved the novel and find that I didn't feel as strongly about the movie on an emotional level. I didn't feel the same connection because I felt more emotion reading the book. There was something missing here and I think that the filmmakers had a tough task and they did so well with the look of the film and capturing this World that some emotion was stripped from the experience. Saying all this I think Viggo Mortensen is outstanding in this movie! He makes it look so effortless and he can always show vulnerability mixed with strength. I am convinced he can do any genre of film he wants and come off as competent. Also a first time performance by Kodi Smit-McPhee is natural, beautiful and well played as he holds his own with Mortensen and creates a true and effective father/son relationship. I like this movie but wanted to love it like I did the novel but i was left a little disappointed but I do think it is worth seeing. I do think that John Hillcoat has done a very good job. He is an effective director whose last film is one of my favorite Westerns in a long time called "The Proposition" which is brutally violent and powerful. He gets the job done but I just think the story is better off experienced in the novel. Now should you see it? If you read the novel I say you have to see it. At least you will think it is a good adaptation like I did or you will love it. If you haven't read the novel I think you might have a tough time ahead of you. I would definitely like to revisit this movie again and see if the experience becomes more emotional. It must be the Fall Movie Season because movies are making us think again.