The Road (2009)

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  TheMovieDiorama

  8 / 10

  The Road is the very definition of depressing. I literally did not smile once, my soul is drained and any happiness that resided in me has now been utterly decimated. Good lord this was bleak. In a post-apocalyptic future, mankind is on the brink of extinction where only a few fight for survival. A father and son are pushed to their limits but the love between them keeps the battle for survival strong. This is a story where hope is completely diminished. There is no rainbow at the end of the road, just misery and death. It explores themes of mortality and memories. Succumbing to the fear of death where you no longer wish to be alive. But the nostalgic memories of past happiness pushes the mind further and adds that little sense of hope that was once gone. Trust no one, do whatever it takes to survive. Heck, I've never wanted a tinned can of Del Monte peaches so much in all my life. It's a harsh environment, where scavenging for food is the only means of staying alive. Consistent earthquakes, cannibalism, forest fires...it's a torturous world. But what keeps the narrative flowing, is the tight relationship between father and son. Raising a child where there is no hope is a difficult task, particularly where solitude and loneliness plays a key role in this future. But the chemistry between Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee is sonphenomenally well portrayed that I was undertaking this perilous journey with them. A transformative performance for both of them. Director John Hillcoat embeds scenes that includes the father's past love (played beautifully by Charlize Theron) which reminds us that there is still humanity within him. It's absolutely resonating. The Road's weakness is its script which unfortunately was not particularly compelling for me. The visual narration conveyed the themes, so scenes filled with dialogue just felt uninteresting. At times the story does feel monotonous, going from one bad scenario to the other. However this is the brutal depiction of a post-apocalyptic future where there is no hope. An extremely depressing yet powerful cinematic piece.

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