The Road (2009)
I’ve seen The Road twice now and it’s still a wallop of an experience. This is not a horror film or a thriller but it will have you sweating throughout.
This post-apocalyptic story follows a man (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Cody Scott-McPhee) traveling in a desolated North America. After an unspecified global disaster, nearly all animal species have gone extinct and all plant life has been wiped out. Most humans have resorted to cannibalism to survive, but our heroes insist on holding onto their integrity in a world without hope.
Based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, The Road shows us the deepest depths of desperation. While searching for greener pastures, our protagonists have to dodge marauding gangs armed with guns while having to confront their own demons and the appeal of letting go of their ideals. This film is frightening in the same way that a zombie movie is frightening. With limited resources and rampant paranoia, who is more dangerous: them, or us? It’s interwoven with a powerful drama. A father, a son. Probably the last living family left on earth. How did they get there, where will they go next?
For what it is, this is a great-looking, film. The use of color is particularly striking because there’s hardly any. This world is so bleak you wonder if suicide isn’t better than another day of uncertainty. Then, we slip into flashbacks of before the disaster and see how carefree these people were. It helps you remember that survival isn’t enough, that hope and joy are what will keep you going. A warm fire, a treat that’s been overlooked, a pleasant memory, those are what will keep our heroes going.
Watching The Road, you become determined not to lose hope, no matter what. You desperately want to see this father and son make it out alive. They became avatars for you. If they make it, you will too. Perhaps more important than their lives are their code of ethics, their desire to remain good people in a world where all morals have been abandoned. This is the crucial human element that makes the picture an unforgettable experience. Though things get as bleak as they possibly could, you’re constantly reminded that hope can still burn bright.
I won’t call this is a depressing movie, but it’s a depressing story. You thought a zombie apocalypse was bad? At least zombies can’t help but eat people, and once you turn into one, there’s nothing you can do about it. Our heroes are dying. They’re starved, haven’t seen sunlight in years, regularly talk about suicide as an option, and have seen horrors only hinted at in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre time and time again. It’s not a question of “if”, but “when”. In their shoes, what would you do? Director John Hillcoat forces you to confront a scenario with no alternatives. It's kill or be killed. When confronted with such extremes, you're compelled to examine who you are.
All that and it’s got some powerful performances. It boils down its themes to the essentials, stripping away everything but the crucially important. What’s left makes a powerful impact. Is it the kind of movie you can just pop into your machine and watch anytime? No, but you’re going to forget it anytime soon and it will provoke something inside you. The Road might be the stuff of nightmares, but I can’t help kind of loving it. (On DVD, April 22, 2016)
