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| Movie Review: The Road Alternate Title: No Country for Anyone
Story: The Road's less traveled
because there aren't any people left to travel. Due to an unspecified
worldwide cataclysm, we meet a man and his son as they travel south
in a post-apocolyptical world. This powerful adaptation of the novel
by Cormac McCarthy was directed by John Hillcoat
and written by Joe Penhall.
The world is devoid of sun, has lost it's wildlife, it's forests are
denuded and life seems to have been drained. The planet is dying. It
is a frightening place where everyone you do meet is most likely a predator,
murderer, rapist or cannibal. In this horrific backdrop we find a man
devoted to his young son and is trying desperately to keep the flame
of hope alive by teaching his son the techniques to survive.
Every day is a struggle to find food and shelter. There are unseen
dangers everywhere. This strong film deals with enormous subjects such
as loss, isolation, fear, death and the very fine
line between good and evil. Earth's color has been desaturated. The
only time we see color is in a few flashbacks before the catastrophe.
Not your typical holiday fare you say? I am not
sure who the audience will be for this film, but if you have the stomach
to sit for two hours you will see images that will stick with you for
days, terrific acting, fantastic cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe
and pitch perfect production values by Chris Kennedy.
Watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4aNZGniOG4
Acting: Viggo Mortensen as the Man should be expecting
some nominations for Best Actor in his future. His performance has economy
and smolders. Kodi Smit-McPhee as the Boy is terrific
and believeable. In cameo roles we meet Robert Duvall
as the Old Man, Guy Pearce as the Veteran, Molly
Parker as the Motherly Woman, Michael Kenneth Williams
as the Thief, Garret Dillahunt as a very scary Gang
Member and Charlize Theron as the Boy' Mother.
Trivia: Director John Hillcoat directed music videos
for Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Einstürzende Neubauten, Siouxsie
& the Banshees, Manic Street Preachers, Bush, Placebo, Suede, Atari
Teenage Riot, Depeche Mode, HIM, Alec Empire, Muse, AFI and more. At
a young age, his paintings were featured in the Art Gallery of Hamilton
(Ontario, Canada). Cormac McCarthy's novel "All
the Pretty Horses" won a National Book Award in 1992 and his ovel
"The Road" won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2007. Viggo
Mortenson speaks fluent English, Spanish, Danish, and French,
but he also speaks Swedish and Norwegian reasonably well. Born in NYC
he lived in South America from age 2 to age 11. He has been photographing
for years, recently debuted with an exhibition at the Robert Mann Gallery
in NYC. -- American Photo, July/August 2000. He writes poetry in his
spare time. and is also a jazz musician - he has released three CDs
so far.
Predilection: None
Critters: A horse, beetle and a dog.
Food: Food is scarce. Spam, beans, slop, gruel, crackers
and canned fruit cocktail.
Sex Spectrum: No sex. There are a few scenes showing
Viggo Mortenson in the nude (from the rear).
Blatant Product Placement: It is somewhat funny to
see which product survived the nightmare. Guess what? You can still
drink Coca Cola if you can find it, drink a bottle of Vitamin Water,
eat Cheetos, Spam and canned Dole Fruit Cocktail.
Soundtrack: At times a bit too sentimental but mostly
appropriate by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis;
Opening Titles: An opening scene before the cataclysm
and then the film's titles. All other credits are at the end.
Visual Art: Shot in Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Mt
St, Helens the visuals are a major player in this film.
Theater Audience: Pretty crowded for the first show
on opening day. Mostly filled with 20 or 30-somethings, a few Goths
and me.
Weather: If accu-weather still existed the forecast
would be the same each day - rain, clouds, lightning, fire and earthquakes.
Sappy Factor: 0
Quirky Meter: 0
Squirm Scale: 3 - Some of the images are quite disturbing.
Drift Factor: I did not drift at all.
Predictability Level: High
Tissue Usage: I welled up a bit towards the end.
Oscar Worthy: Yes
Big Screen or Rental: Absolutely, the big screen
Length: Two hours.
LOBO HOWLS: 9
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