Australian director John Hillcoat has often been drawn to films that explore the barrenness of society, both physically and emotionally, and his latest, "The Road", from Cormac McCarthy’s novel, defines those themes with a distinct and fascinating clarity.
The film is the epic post-apocalyptic tale of a journey taken by a father [Viggo Mortensen] and his young son [Kodi Smit-McPhee] across a barren landscape that was blasted by an unnamed cataclysm that destroyed civilisation and most life on earth.
For some curious reason, the post-Apocalypse is a favourite theme among filmmakers this year, and audiences will be exposed to quite a flurry of such films all treating the subject with varying degrees of success. "The Road" is a tough, dark and sombre look at a world so utterly destroyed and the need to survive. There are no names given to any of the characters, allowing one to both disconnect from its principals until its final, tour-de-force denouement.
The Road is a film that brutally explores the nihilism of a lost society and does so with both grace and power. Hillcoat is a visual master as he so beautifully captures the expansiveness of this dead world, with dark and ferocious imagery. One can literally feel this end of the world crumble before us, with the dying foliage immersed in a world of desperate survivors as cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe lights the film in such a way that its dark and dingy look is visually real, as is the haunting score of Nick Cave.
"The Road" is not an action film, but one that deals with a father-son relationship and director Hillcoat deliberately paces his film carefully, punctuating quite moments with outbursts of violence and suspense. This is by no means a film of escapist fantasy, but like its source material, is a dark and savage work, with sparse dialogue and moments that are both pessimistic but ultimately present us with a sense of hope.
There are essentially two actors in the film and both are sensational. Mortensen has grown in leaps and bounds over the years and this may be his finest hour. Subtle, nuanced and saying little with so much, Mortensen gives a beautiful and powerful performance. Young Australian Kodi Smit-McPhee is a major find. Last seen in his debut film Romulus my Father, there is no hint of his Australian background and he is simply superb. In a brief role and shown in flashback, Charlize Theron is fine as the wife who deserts her family.
"The Road" is a stunning achievement, uncompromising, visually extraordinary and emotionally challenging, representing a new and exciting chapter in the career of a fine filmmaker who knows how to explore the savagery of a landscape. This is quite a film and one has hopes for box office success, despite its sometimes-difficult subject matter.
