Thread: The Road

I think the problem with the film is that the book was was virtually unfilmable. Hillcoat did a good job, and I don't think it's a poor film by any means, but it's just that if you've read the book the atmosphere is cocooned with dread and told with prose so fine that getting that out of your head and into your eyes is an impossible task

What I mean is that the rating doesn't convey my thoughts all that well. As a general rule, the review itself will always explain what I think more than the number. So I'd say the review is the essence of the review, and the rating is for lazy people.

As for the ending; I think I hint earlier than that that I'm not cuckoo-go-nuts for it, like in the second-to-last paragraph. But I'll grant you that it's a weird review. Most of it, I don't say anything particularly good or bad about the film, but simply find ways to describe the feelings it evokes. I actually think that's the most valuable way to review a film like this, or at least the most likely method to let a reader know if it's something they'd like to see or not.


Certainly not, and I'm not suggesting it's not good simply because it makes me feel bad, though I do think it's probably a bit easier to create sheer melancholy than it is to create some other types of emotions. It's not so much that it's sad, but that it's only sad. I think it's good -- and not great -- because it's very single-minded in its goal. It wants to make me feel one specific way for the entire runtime, and it's pretty straightforward about how it achieves this.

The way I look at it is that The Road has modest goals, but achieves them. That's better than a lot of films that may aim higher than their substance and execution can take them, but I think it puts a ceiling on how good the film can be. I think you might agree, for example, that i's not really a clever or particularly interesting film. Just a very serious, unflinching one. That has value, but it's not the kind of thing that blows me away, no matter how well-shot or well-acted a production is.

As for the rating indicating that it "doesn't have an impact on [me] at all" -- that's not how I think of a [rating]3[/rating], personally. To me, that rating simply means "above-average." I could have easily given it a [rating]3.5[/rating], though. I bounced back and forth between the two.

This right here.

I agree to an extent that this was unfilmable, but damn...they certainly did a fine job transferring it, IMO.

I meant to pop in here last night and do a pretty heavy analysis of the film (much like I did with The Fountain), but I forgot. I'll see if I can find some time this weekend.

I hesitate to give it a good rating because its not a good film. A film that's dark and dreary just for the sake of being dark and dreary does not a magnificent noir thriller make.

I think Meaty hit it on the head earlier.

I'd be interested to read your analysis

The Road is, in my opinion, the perfect illustration of parenthood. Life after the conception of a child is chaotic, dangerous and full of unsureness. We are limited to what the father experiences trying to raise his son because, I feel, the author is illuminating a very important point; it's just you and your child...against everything. As much as we say raising a child is a team effort between parents, the parents experience this in vastly different ways.

The opening, when the world ends, is the beginning of parenthood. The couple is unaware of what is to come, and this is the greatest fear. The birth of the man's son is the beginning of his journey. His duty, so to speak...which explains why the woman is so distant and hostile to her husband. Eventually, she leaves them both to each other. This starts the painful aspect of being a parent...being alone...having to know the answers. There's no one to turn to and you do the best you can.

Eventually, a parent's defensive mechanisms for their child can blind them to the world they're in...the child is there to remind them of the good in the world...ethical direction. It's not enough to stop the constant drumming in the back of a parent's head; have I prepared them for when I'm gone?

I believe The Road simply illustrates what some, if not many, parents experience when they have a child. The world ends, they see evil everywhere, they try and protect their child, but in the end they have to leave them. More importantly, the child is able to comfort the worries of the parent by illustrating goodness in the absence of it.

At least, that's what The Road means to me.

It's not dark and dreary for the sake of being dark and dreary! It's dark and dreary because the book is dark and dreary!

Anyways, I definitely agree with Yoda's review. This really is a personal film, IMO. It's flawless and true to the material, but that's both its strength and weakness. Yoda said it best when he said the text and rating need to be taken into account together. Well, I'll go one step further and say the book and film need to be taken into account together. Otherwise, you're just going to walk away from the film with a "I hated it" or "I loved it." I did the latter. After reading the book I can appreciate how good the film is outside of emotion, and I would say it's round about a [rating]3.5[/rating] or a [rating]4[/rating]. I'd say the latter again, though.

Besides, I think a few people can make the connection as to why I love this film so much, so I'll be the first to admit I'm biased.

I like that John, a good summing up, very insightful. Do you have kids yourself? The Road (the book) besides being a prose masterwork brought a lump to my throat so many times when reading about the relationship between the boy and the man. It was one of those books where you feel like you can place yourself in the shoes of the person, so I was happy when the ending came like that.

Is the connection related to your affinity for dirty brown clothing? Or cannibalism?

Color me curious.

He used to build roads.