Thread: The Road

Mind you, this is just my interpretation of the film. I wouldn't say it's the definite explanation of the story, but it seems to be the most relevant.

And no, I do not have kids. Although, I often imagine what they will mean to me when I do have them.

Nah, I just really like Coco-Cola.

Nicely put. That is pretty close to how I read it.

Everyone has made some interesting and valid points on this film. This is one of the best films I've seen in a long time. The acting is great, the cinematography is excellent, the writing/story has a good message etc. etc.

Mortensen interview:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkJeBZ_29oE&feature=related[/youtube]

It is tasty.

I finally caught the film last night. I also decided to reread Yoda's review that began this thread. It's a good review, Yoda, and I agree with much of it and would rate it the same, but I think I would disagree that it invoked every feeling it meant to....

I think, for me, where this film really fails is that this is one of those occasions where the art of filmmaking cannot compare to the written word. We, being cinephiles, enjoy films at the level of art and embrace how it is different than literature.

Unfortunately, The Road, no matter the filmmaker, would probably never make a good film. As I was watching it, it seemed to hit the right tone, it certainly explores the relationship of father to son, the acting is wonderful (especially by Viggo), yet it lacks what made the book so incredibly special.

In the end, there is a moment in the book where the Man tells us he cannot shoot the boy. It is a heart-stopping moment and when reading it, I began to sob. Hysterically. Cormac's constant repetition of the meaning of the gun's one bullet had this amazing and heartbreaking payoff.

That payoff fell off in the film and if someone hadn't been watching closely, they may have missed it entirely. I felt nothing. I wasn't even sad at a moment I should have been. I'm not sure what the director could have done differently, yet something so important to the power of story was absent.

Yoda is right, it was a film that was meant to be endured. Yet the book will live on my heart as one of the times where an author reached deep inside my soul and made me feel something I will never forget.

I was left with one lasting impression: that literature should never be fully replaced and those who do not read books are missing out on one of the major joys of life.

I watched the film and am currently reading the book. I enjoyed both and so far both are very high quality. I love the color of the film.

That is one thing that stood out most to be. The photography of THe Road, which is absolutely brilliantly bleak, dark, and grim.

The only complaint I have about the film... and maybe the book? Is the abrupt and contrived ending. Up until the last several minutes the film was certainly an "A" in my book.

Did the end seem a little too upbeat and convienent for anyone else also?

This is true. But that just passes the complaint along to the book. And, of course, we have to allow people to make value judgments independent of the book.

I wouldn't go as far as saying it's dark and dreary just for the sake of being dark and dreary, but I can't really fault someone for thinking so. There's not an explicit message or moral, which I think makes the dreariness feel a lot less necessary. When it builds towards a real resolution, we tend to view the suffering as having caused that resolution, or helped bring it about, which sort of justifies it for us. Without that, it's hard to shake the idea that the whole thing is just an exercise in manipulation.

Granted, I don't feel that The Road is any of these things, for the most part, but as a general rule I think a story invites them when it depicts such depressing things and simultaneously leaves their purpose, if any, to be interpreted.

Anyway, I hope anyone upset with the rating reads the review, because I can't think of any rating I could give it that would feel quite right.

I will add.

I also love the symbolism (cliche' I know) of the bullet as their means of escape from the cruel world and how the film dealt with suicide.

One of my favorite scenes is when the father holds the gun to his son's head ready to pull the trigger rather than allow his boy be cannibalised.

Just finished watching it an hour ago - would probably rate it a [rating]2.5[/rating] at best, all things considered. For the record, I already read the book, so I'm not sure how much different it would've been either way, but yeah. Apart from some decent visuals and a couple of scenes that were handled particularly well, it just didn't work for me. It wasn't really depressing, though - at least not incredibly so. I just have a habit of getting used to films like that.