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The Road - nail-biting, finger eating tension
The Road reaches a fever pitch of intensity as soon as you see Papa, played by Viggo Mortensen, and his son, the excellent Kodi Smit-McPhee, in their first encounter with the cannibalistic “bad guys”. From that point on you’re constantly scanning the bleak horizon for signs of trouble, you’re eyes dart to shadows on the screen and you distrust every encounter that they have with another human.
Based on the book written by Cormac McCarthy, The Road follows the man and boy as they head south to try to find salvation at the coast from the end of the world. Every piece of dialogue and every scene is perfectly crafted, and the acting skills make the film completely believable. Charlize Theron, who seems to be on a bit of a post-apocalyptic type-casting deal at the moment (she is also to star in Mad Max 4), puts in a great performance as the lost wife and mother and Robert Duvall’s dying old man role is played wonderfully.
All in all The Road is probably the best end-of-the-world film I’ve seen, despite a couple of plot lines that don’t make a great deal of sense (Papa is always making decisions that seem to get them into trouble). However, it falls into the same trap that they all do and ends sort of half-heartedly, without the same tension and power of the rest of the film. This can’t take away the perfect performances, the amazingly crafted backdrops or the sentiment behind the film.
4/5
Home > Film > Movie reviews > The Road - review
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