The Road

( 10 )

Overview

A father Viggo Mortensen and son make their way across a post-apocalyptic United States in hopes of finding civilization amongst the nomadic cannibal tribes in 2929 Productions' adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's thrilling Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Road. John Hillcoat The Proposition directs from a screenplay provided by Joe Penhall. Charlize Theron co-stars in the Dimension Films release.
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Overview

A father Viggo Mortensen and son make their way across a post-apocalyptic United States in hopes of finding civilization amongst the nomadic cannibal tribes in 2929 Productions' adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's thrilling Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Road. John Hillcoat The Proposition directs from a screenplay provided by Joe Penhall. Charlize Theron co-stars in the Dimension Films release.
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Special Features

Director's Commentary; Deleted and Extended Scenes; The Making Of The Road
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Jason Buchanan
Don't be fooled by the apocalyptic infernos, decimated landscapes, and roving bands of gaunt, hallow-eyed cannibals; while director John Hillcoat and screenwriter Joe Penhall's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's bleak best-seller The Road is without question one of the most grim and nightmarish survival stories ever conjured up on film, it also happens to be one of the most optimistic and hopeful. Nevertheless, there's plenty of darkness surrounding that faint flicker of humanity -- almost enough to swallow it up entirely. The world, as we know it, is dead. How it happened isn't important; the only thing that matters now is survival. Into this dying world comes a child Kodi Smit-McPhee. His mother Charlize Theron is gone, but his father Viggo Mortensen remains to guide him. Their destination: the sea. Neither father nor son is entirely sure of what they'll find when they reach the coast; all they know is that it can't be any worse than the wasteland that leads to it. As humanity breathes its last gasp, the father attempts to protect his son from the most awful threat imaginable. They forge ahead in hope that somewhere out there exists a place where people will come together and start to rebuild the fragile threads that were torn apart in that awful cataclysm that thrust them back into the dark ages. But they're not certain such a place even exists -- or, if it does, that they'll ever make it there alive. Apocalyptic fables have been around since long before the Cold War; however, it seemed to be the threat of nuclear annihilation, in particular, that really challenged us to take pause and consider the potential consequences of our obstinate appetite for destruction. Thanks to films like Testament, Threads, and The Day After, we were permitted the unique opportunity to live out these nightmare scenarios without having to actually live through them. Much like those films, The Road is genuinely devastating, and much like the filmmakers who made them, McCarthy, Hillcoat, and Penhall are attempting to deliver a very specific message -- in this case about our ability to resist becoming animals even after the playing field between man and beast has been leveled. That message may not always be a reassuring one, but the artistry with which it's delivered ensures that we're right there with the characters on every step of their arduous journey. The key to the film's success lies in its use of contrast -- not the contrast between the world as it was and what it's now become, but the contrast between those who would instinctively ravage and consume a fellow human being in the name of survival, and those who refuse to betray the values left over from another time and place. How can we fully appreciate the incredible strength that it would take to maintain our dignity and resist our most primal urges without witnessing the desperation of those who were unable to do so, and the horrible results that followed? By illustrating this point in a series of harrowing scenes and creating an environment where nothing ever feels truly comfortable or safe, Hillcoat and Penhall take us to some pretty dark places, and make every moment believable. This is the antithesis of the Mad Max-style post apocalyptic action-adventure that began permeating screens in the early '80s. In those films, the apocalypse was simply a backdrop for a series of thrilling set pieces; in The Road, it's the oppressive reality that's constantly at the forefront of our thoughts, dictating every desperate move as any hope for a happy ending blows away with the ashes and debris. In this world death is a luxury, and the most loving act a father can commit is killing his own child before the cannibals close in. The scenes in which the father wrestles with making an unthinkable sacrifice raise some fascinating questions about the evolution of relationships in the post-apocalyptic world, and the true nature of unconditional love in extreme circumstances. Those scenes will undoubtedly haunt the soul of any parent for days after viewing the film, and spark some interesting thoughts on just how different our world could be in the blink of an eye. If society collapsed completely, how much of the next generation's morals and values would be based on the standards that existed before the fall? Would they attempt to rebuild what we had? How would the relationship between parent and child, in particular, be affected as the elder generation attempted to teach their young descendants how to "keep the fire"? Throughout the film, the boy keeps asking his father if they're "still the good guys." He instinctively realizes that the things happening all around him are wrong, even if he never had the privilege of living in the comfortable world his father once knew. We spend the vast majority of the film with these two figures alone, and for that reason it's crucial that they are convincing. Cadaverous and malnourished, Mortensen is survival personified as he soldiers on in search of hope and tries to comfort his terrified son. And while it's impossible to determine how a child of this awful new world would speak or behave, young Smit-McPhee displays a mixture of apprehension and curiosity that comes off as heartbreakingly genuine. The fact that he bears a striking resemblance to his onscreen mother Theron is just icing on the cake of an unforgettable performance, and Robert Duvall, Garret Dillahunt, Michael K. Williams, and Guy Pearce make distinct impressions even though their roles amount to little more than extended cameos. DP Javier Aguirresarobe's stark cinematography creates a suffocating air of ruin and despair, with Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' minimalist score hitting all the right notes in a world where the only music to be heard is the rumbling of the earth and the whistling of the poisonous winds. Few who take this dark journey are ever likely to forget it, but those who walk away believing that the only message here is hopelessness are encouraged to put their cynicism in check and reevaluate their response after the initial shock of it all has worn off. Perhaps then they can begin to see the forest instead of just the charred, barren trees.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 5/25/2010
  • UPC: 043396347632
  • Original Release: 2009

    • Rating:

  • Source: Sony Pictures
  • Region Code: 1
  • Presentation: Wide Screen / Subtitled
  • Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
  • Language: English
  • Time: 1:51:00
  • Format: DVD
  • Sales rank: 7,859

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Viggo Mortensen The Man
Kodi Smit-McPhee The Boy
Robert Duvall Old Man
Charlize Theron Wife
Guy Pearce The Veteran
Molly Parker Veteran's Wife
Michael K. Williams The Thief
Garret Dillahunt The Gang Member
Bob Jennings Bearded Man
Jack Erdie Bearded Man #2
Buddy Sosthand Archer
Agnes Herrmann Archer's Woman
Kirk Brown Bearded Face
David August Lindauer Man on Mattress
Gina Preciado Well Fed Woman
Mary Rawson Well Fed Woman #2
Technical Credits
John Hillcoat Director
Javier Aguirresarobe Cinematographer
Marc Butan Executive Producer
Nick Cave Score Composer, Musical Direction/Supervision
Mark Cuban Executive Producer
Warren Ellis Score Composer, Musical Direction/Supervision
Gershon Ginsburg Art Director
Jon Gregory Editor
Erik Hodge Co-producer
Robert C. Jackson Sound/Sound Designer
John Nelson Asst. Director
Christopher Kennedy Production Designer
Francine Maisler Casting
Joe Penhall Screenwriter
Victoria Ruskin Set Decoration/Design
Steve Schwartz Producer
Paula Mae Schwartz Producer
Rudd Simmons Executive Producer
Mike Upton Co-producer
Todd Wagner Executive Producer
Nick Wechsler Producer
Margot Wilson Costumes/Costume Designer
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Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Road
1. Scene 1 [4:10]
2. Scene 2 [3:34]
3. Scene 3 [4:09]
4. Scene 4 [5:36]
5. Scene 5 [2:53]
6. Scene 6 [3:34]
7. Scene 7 [3:00]
8. Scene 8 [6:25]
9. Scene 9 [4:05]
10. Scene 10 [3:27]
11. Scene 11 [3:32]
12. Scene 12 [2:40]
13. Scene 13 [4:46]
14. Scene 14 [3:25]
15. Scene 15 [3:52]
16. Scene 16 [3:58]
17. Scene 17 [3:05]
18. Scene 18 [4:55]
19. Scene 19 [3:12]
20. Scene 20 [2:06]
21. Scene 21 [3:24]
22. Scene 22 [5:42]
23. Scene 23 [1:57]
24. Scene 24 [3:10]
25. Scene 25 [2:28]
26. Scene 26 [3:02]
27. Scene 27 [2:06]
28. Scene 28 [3:19]
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Menu

Disc #1 -- Road
   Play Movie
   Subtitles
      English*
      English Subtitled Commentary
      English SDH
      Subtitles: Off
   Scene Selections
   Special Features
      Commentary With Director John Hillcoat: On/ Off
      Deleted and Extended Scenes
         Play All
            Lightning Man
            Caravan-Extended
            Dog In Mall
            Sharing An Apple
            Saying Goodbye
      The Making Of The Road
      Theatrical Trailer #1
      Theatrical Trailer #2
      Previews
         Youth In Revolt
         A Single Man
         Shinjuku Incident
         Unthinkable
         Defendor
         Chloe
         A Prophet (Un Prophete)
         The Last Station
      Play Movie
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 10 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(6)

4 Star

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3 Star

(2)

2 Star

(2)

1 Star

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