The Road
Review
by Anthony Morris
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The Road
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Is there such a thing as an adaptation that's too close to the original? Not
that there's anything wrong with the original in this case: Cormac
McCarthy's ultra-bleak novel of a man and his son struggling through
the ash-covered ruins of humanity is a brilliant novel and one that
deserves all the praise heaped on it. There was some question whether Australian director John Hillcoat (The Proposition)
could do justice to the novel's unremitting grimness; when the film's
release was delayed for a year, people wondered instead whether he'd
done too good a job. As it turns out, he's done as good a job as anyone could have asked for. The
tone of the father and son's journey is slightly lighter (no roast
babies here) and the environment of despair around them is less stark -
nature here simply seems to be winding down, rather than the ashen
sterile wasteland of the novel. Viggo
Mortensen is excellent as the father, conveying just the right amount
of grim determination at his core. Without it, he wouldn't be plausible
as a survivor, and while everything around that core has all but flaked
away, there are enough glimpses of the man he used to be to make him
completely convincing. Equally
impressive is Kodi Smit-McPhee as his son. As a character who
occasionally verges on being too good to be true he has a tricky job
keeping him believable, but again the end result is never less than
totally convincing. Usually there's
enough of a difference between the book and the film to make one
preferable to the other: here the book remains a masterpiece, but the
film is as faithful to it as anyone could hope for. Well, anyone but those hoping for a cheery night at the cinema.
4
out
of 5
The Road
Australian release: 28th January,
2010
Official
Site: The Road
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Guy Pearce, Robert Duvall
Director: John Hillcoat
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