"Are we gonna die?"It's the end of the world as Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee know it. And they're not feeling fine. In last year's The Road, one of Hollywood's most underrecognized actors Mortensen starred as a father who, with his son (Smit-Phee) in tow, is struggling just to stay alive amidst the threats that lay before him on a burning post apocalyptic Earth. After his wife (played by Charlize Theron) abandons the pair out of fear and desperation, the father and son's days are left numbered as they ward off gangs, starvation, and hypothermia.
--"We are not gonna quit. We are gonna survive this."
That's about the gist of the movie. Each frame presents another day in the life of their ongoing struggle as they make their trek down to a warmer south. But what is most standout about this otherwise flatlined movie is the performance by Smit-McPhee, who in his short life had to deal with extraordinary circumstances--circumstances of which as a youngster he couldn't understand the full grasp. But his heartwrenching performance and neverending devotion to his burdened father was palpable. Too bad Mortensen's performance, though decent, failed to deliver on the same emotional scale. Even with the brief cameos by Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce, The Road doesn't meet expectations.
Reel Talk rating: C+
4 comments:
I agree! I caught it at the AFI Film Fest and while the cinematography is appealing, the story never quite gets there.
It wasn't showed here and we still don't have the DVD release. Although, they say that the movie is not so good, I'm looking forward to see it. Have you read the book? I did and it was tremendous, I really enjoyed it.
@Lesya I haven't read the bok, but I heard it was great! maybe i'll check that out instead
I did think the movie missed a little something to emotionally grab you despite all the bleakness. It was however solid enough for a B on my end.
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