The Road

John Hillcoat follows up the blistering The Proposition, with his adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road. The Proposition was brutal, but entertaining. The Road is similarly brutal, but the entertainment factor is it a premium due to the heavy content of McCarthy’s novel. The story concerns Man (Viggo Mortensen) and Boy (Kodi Smith-McPhee) trying to survive in a world post an unspecified disaster of some kind. The relationship between Mortensen and his son is the focal point of the story, as Man paternally tries to protect his son and make sure neither of them fall into the desperation (basically cannibalism) that has affected many of the other survivors. Mortensen gives a solid performance and there is believable chemistry between himself and Smith-McPhee. Be warned though, this really is a grim film at times, with the cannibalistic scenes particularly disturbing. Talk has been made of this being one of the most depressing films ever made. It’s certainly not uplifting, that’s for sure. Not that this makes it a bad film, but it doesn’t really help, especially as the film drags for long periods. The usual message in a film like this is “What would you do in such a situation?”. The problem being this is hardly an original concept for a mainstream film and, especially, with the glut of similarly themed films in recent years, you kind of feel like you’ve been here before. Perhaps this was best left as a novel.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Beautifully shot, but apart from a decent turn from Mortensen, that isn’t really enough for you to see a film that is just as effective on paper. Rating: 5/10.