The Road, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2006 novel, has been my most anticipated film of the year. Its release was delayed: to position it for the Academy Awards? to refashion its ending so that it appears less bleak?
Because he is one of the few novelists whose works I buy, immediately, it has been three full years since I read the story. I knew as soon as I learned there would be a film version precisely what the problem would be. McCarthy is a master of description: he has the unique skill of detailing mundane processes with a precision that readers would need should they hope ever to replicate those acts. How does one hope to film such detail? Billy Bob Thornton tried to do so in his All The Pretty Horses (2000), but the 116 minutes that came to cinemas gave viewers but a hint of the epic achievement of that novel.
Like No Country For Old Men (2005), The Road presents a more modest canvas. The focus of the latter gives filmmaker John Hillcoat a fair chance, and like the Coen Brothers' adaptation of the former the new project benefits from superb casting.
So, did I enjoy it? I did, absolutely. I was taken, particularly, by Viggo Mortensen's depiction of "Man," who, essentially, could best be described as "Father." Looking out for his son in the wake of apocalypse, "Man" shows a steely determination and focus that has defined many of Mortensen's best characters. In fact, Mortensen (working from Joe Penhall's screenplay) makes even more vivid one of McCarthy's most salient points: how blind we are to good, when we protect ourselves and those we love from the evil in the world. I put down the novel, three years ago, in awe of our collective will to live. This is contrast played out between "Man" and the character played here by Charlize Theron. But Mortensen is good enough to lend nuance to a role fully stripped bare.
As with No Country for Old Men, everyone should absolutely read The Road. As horrible as is "the cellar" in the film, your imagination will make it worse. But I cannot claim to have been disappointed in any way with this adaptation.
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