The Road is based on a book by the same name that Gordon reviewed here.
Starring Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Well, being truthful, Duvall is in the movie for about 5 minutes total and Theron for 10 at the most. This movie is driven by the incredible performances of Mortensen and Smit-McPhee.
Just a brilliantly acted and shot film.
However, the film has one glaring flaw: it has no real story.
The story has Viggo and Kodi as a father and son trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. It is never explained what happened, but everything is gray, and there seems to be no wildlife or vegetation. Most humans are now either surviving on their own or in cannibalistic tribes. Through flashbacks we see that Theron told Viggo to take the boy south. Why? To keep him warm. So that's the film. Viggo takes the boy south while trying not to die.
I guess the movie was about how helpless humans are once everything is removed from our lives, and how some of us turn to evil deeds to survive. I've see where the book was praised as an important environmental book. I'm not sure how that's possible considering it's never established what wiped out civilization.
Stories should have three acts, and this has one.
On top of that, I think most audiences would find it to be mind numbingly boring.
I'm sure the book must be better, but in film, everything is so subtle or never explained. I had a hard time caring about the limited bits of back story I did see. I wanted to know more about what happened. Why guns and ammo were so scarce. Where were the pockets of decent civilians?
A story can't just be a series of negative statements with no point or explanation.
Still, the acting, special effects, cinematography, and set design are enough to make this worth seeing once. Just don't expect a riveting story.
6 out of 10.