Viewed in
2011
Formats
TV
Premise
Viggo Mortensen stars in Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel adaption about a father who tries to keep him and his son alive in a dead world.
Loved
The depressing visuals, the writing.
Liked
The acting.
Thoughts
It may be hard to watch at times, but it was absolutely compelling.
The most outstanding part was the writing. It painted such a realistic post-apocalyptic world and created wonderful drama about a father-son relationship trying to maintain civility in a world where it no longer exists. The characters were confronted with numerous thought-provoking moments and harsh dilemma. This film can be tough not for the violence, but because its universe made cannibalism/suicide such a logical, almost singular, answers for preservation.
Helping to express these engrossing ideas, were strong performances and gorgeous visuals. Mortensen was perfect, with his weary face and soulful eyes, as the father. The rest of the cast was fantastic, from the likes of Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, and Robert Duvall, to the unknowns.
Thanks to directing, cinematography, and art direction, they created a haunting world in which every synonym for desolate, depressing gray applied. Aesthetically speaking, they created poetic beauty out of dead trees and ash-covered civilization.
You definitely need to prepare yourself mentally for films like The Road. When you are, you will not regret watching this wonderfully-written, well-acted and executed film full of tough ideas.
What I would change
Nothing.
