English Science Fiction Movie The Road 2009
Cast And Crew
Staring Aaron Bernard, Jared Pfenningwerth, Michael K. Williams, Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-mcphee, Viggo Mortensen, Garret Dillahunt, Robert Duvall
Director: John Hillcoat
Producers: Erik Hodge, Mike Upton, Paula Mae Schwartz, Steve Schwartz, Nick Wechsler, Marc Butan, Mark Cuban, Todd Wagner
Screenwriters: Cormac Mccarthy, Joe Penhall
Art Director: Chris Kennedy
Production Designer: Robert Greenfield Jr
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Adaptation, Thriller
Release Date: October 16, 2009
MPAA Rating: R for some violence, disturbing images and language.
Distributor: Dimension Films
Country: USA
Language: English
"The Road" - Synopsis
Based on Cormac McCarthy's best-selling and Pulitzer Prize winning novel, "The Road" is the epic post-apocalyptic tale of a journey taken by a father and his young son across a barren landscape that was blasted by an unnamed cataclysm that destroyed civilization and most life on earth. Watch online Movie Trailer free The Road hollywood film
The Road Hollywood Movie Review
First a disclaimer - I don't have any kids, which I've been told is the reason why I find 'The Road' (both the book and now the movie) horrifically boring. I went to the movie really hoping that I'd missed something in the book. I really wanted to like it. But, guess what? The Emperor still has no clothes. Really. Fine, the performances are good and Charlize, as always, is an inspiration, but man oh man, give me some story...give me some drama...give me something to latch on to. If you were able to get through the book not once having second thoughts about putting it down and finding something else to read, you'll probably enjoy the movie version. But if you're like me and found the book as torturous as a root canal, stay away. If you're looking for a story between father and son, where in the middle of hopelessness we find hope, rent "Life is Beautiful" again. I know Benigni has fallen from grace lately, but at least in that film you get some major laughs.
The film is a combination of meditative art-house epic (think Terrence Malick) and creepy horror movie. Somber, thoughtful moments of father-son bonding are mixed with distressing images that are the stuff of nightmares... There's one really eerie sequence where the father and son wander into a seemingly abandoned house only to discover that a group of malnourished people are being kept in the basement, presumably being used as "food" for the house's owners - who soon come home. The sequence is so disturbing that every scene after it has a hint of suspense, making the experience even more unnerving. There are very few scenes aren't drenched in foreboding and sadness.
As depressing as it is, the performances by Mortensen and Smit-McPhee keep THE ROAD from being a total downer. Whenever father and son happen upon a lucky circumstance (as when they find a hidden cache of supplies) you feel just as fortunate, and it's always uplifting when they manage to smile, even a little. Combined they're on-screen about 99% of the time, so their intense performances give the movie life even when its filled with death. Viggo in particular is excellent, displaying a frightened, vulnerable side we've rarely seen, but also the stoic hero we're now used to.
All other actors in the movie show up in glorified cameos, but they're all effective. Charlize Theron plays the man's long-gone wife in dream sequences, and we see her as a sunny beauty and also as a suicidal shell of herself; she's terrific, as usual. Guy Pearce is solid as a battle-scarred survivor (with a really bad set of teeth) and an almost unrecognizable Robert Duvall has a great few minutes as a weary traveler our heroes stumble upon.
