For our first blog post Mr. Mcclure and I decided to review The Road a film that left us with two varying opinions.This movie was based of the beautifully written novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy. Maybe this is why I felt so disconnected during this film. The novel was for me at least one of the best of the novels written in the last ten years (if not the best) and the film was somewhat of a disappointment because I had such high hopes for it. I mean I know movies are seldom as good as the books but I was just expecting more I guess.
This movie was acted well by Viggo. He handled the role of a father trying to keep his son alive in a post apocalyptic world well. He was filled with the right amount of emotion and really I don't think there's an actor who could've done better in the role. Also Robert Duvall was a nice touch as Eli.
The music for this made by Nick Cave who is a great musician I know but the music did not fit this movie at all. The over the top symphonics of some of the scenes totally ruined some of the more "heart wrenching" and "suspenseful" . There is scenes where the music is blaring when really all I wanted was silence. Scenes don't need over the top music to move you into feeling for the characters. It was an obvious aim for a larger audience who only feel emotion when the music tells them to.
There was some great scenes in this movie though. When the Man is talking with Eli was the best scene of the whole movie. The shots were extremely long and you could really feel struggle and emotion felt by the two men(maybe because there was no music getting in the way!) I absolutely loved the the long shot of just the gun when the Man asks "do you ever think of killing yourself?" and Eli replies " I couldn't ask for such luxuries in these hard times." This is a scene that I felt came straight out of the beautiful prose of McCarthy's book.
There was a lot of scene that fell flat though. One that stands out the most is the scenes when they discovered the half eaten people in the cellar. This was one of the most suspenseful scenes in the book because it was described so well by McCarthy but in the movie it just felt rushed and packed with adrenaline.
I can make connections with how the prose of this novel was handled with how Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men was handled. Both were beautifully written filled with great descriptions of the heartbreak and harrowing losses. Their film counterparts on the other hand were good for what they were but just couldn't pull off what the two great novels of their time achieved. I must point out though that The Road was a way better adaptation though. Grade:68/100 C+
-Hutz
The Film The Road based on the brilliant novel By Cormac Mccarthy is one one that went vastly unnoticed at awards time(Oscars etc.) and it really shouldn't have. As with most of Mccarthy's books the adaptation of this one was brilliant. This one was placed in the hands of John Hill Coat and for a director making his virtual full movie debut he handled it very well. As good as Mccarthy's prose is it was matched pretty well in this adaptation as this film was suspenseful and insightful.
The choice of actors in the film was perfect as Viggo was the man I had pictured when I was reading the novel when it first came out. He was pefectly in tune with his charater with just the right ammount of emotion and strength. The choice of Mcphee was great as he filled the role of the innocent yet weirdly wise child portrayed in Mccarthy's novel. The choice of Robert Duvall as Eli was great and really unexpected but it worked really well and the scenes involving him really carried the movie.
The movie was really caried through insightful dialouge between the man and boy just like in Mccarthy's novel and many of scene capture the suspense that Mccarty was going for in the novel. The scene that really sticks out to me is the scene where they're in the house with the cannibals harvesting people for food and the boy and the man almost get caught in the basement. The next scene is also filled with suspense wit the man placing the revolver on the boys head so that he wouldn't have to be eaten by the cannibals. But luckily they make their escape.
The emotion truly runs high in this film as well especially at the end when the man and the boy reach the coast where they're expecting things to be better. But things aren't better on the coast and the man can truly see it and still wants/needs to be their for his son. But the pair are soon robbed of everything. They do manage to find the robber only to leave him with nothing as they take everything. The boy then finds it hard to belive that him and his dad are the good guys. But the dad fully belives he is teaching the boy to be self suffecient as he knows he will soon die. After the father's emotion filled death the boy is picked up by a family and although his father told him not to take any risks he goes with the family (the family does have the fire inside though) and the film ends.
In closing a great movie adaptation of a more brilliant novel. It can and does teach us a valuable lesson about our planet and its environment. The movie may have even worked better in the reigns of a director like the Coen Brothers but Hill Coat did a brilliant job directing this film.
Grade: 78/100 B
-Mcclure
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