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The Road is what you get when you mix Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Stalker and I Am Legend. It is one of the most harshest movies I've ever seen. The bitterness, coldness, reluctance and lack of soul in the environment is so real that it makes it your actual surroundings and pricks at you from all sides. Most films are about a dysfunctional family in a once-perfect world, but this one is about a once-perfect family in a world that has grown tired to continue. It has given up. What you have is what you have, you won't be getting any more, and that is why The Road is the greatest dystopic post-apocalyptic film ever made, if not for all time, then of the decade (2000-2010). It has all the familiar touches of dystopia and adds its own touches: this is a world where running, cannibalism and ammunition are the only ways to survive and where seeking refuge in a house is the most dangerous mistake. It is also where death is most discussed about over the dinner table, and not how was the day at the office or when is the next dentist appointment due. The full frontal, sharp-as-tacks depiction of how our world can become is not only scary but a living nightmare. It's like as if the fog of Silent Hill took over and personified everyone's innermost desires / secrets / fears and spread it over the world like a blanket.
The direction was awesome, as it showed you exactly what you wanted to see and was quite artistic. It felt like as if it was running on the same vein as the cinematography in Stalker. Anyway, John Hillcoat has created such a great film and calling it a "masterpiece" or "classic" would be too hasty, as it was just released 3 years ago, but I have a feeling these 2 terms will be undeniably used to describe this film. It is a also a good testament on how great films can be with a simple storyline and how memorable it can be if executed brilliantly.
From the performances, Viggo Mortensen was the heart and soul of the movie, but it was Kodi Smit-McPhee who actually "carried the fire". He was a warm and welcome find in my sporadic new-actors hunt. His innocent quality and behaviour proved just the thing in a world cancered with cruelty and harshness. Not only I thoroughly enjoyed his performance but he was so 100% convincing in his role that my heart went out to him. His crying, the look of fear on his face, the amazing chemistry he shared with Viggo, everything was so real that he became less a character and more a real person, a friend, at each passing second. Such a wonderful performance like this can hardly be duplicated, by him or anyone else. Now I'm gonna keep an eye out for him in Let Me In. From the supporting, Charlize Theron ain't no-one to sneeze at. She makes all her short screen-times her own. She leaves no elbow room for others and was equally brilliant as the other two. Robert Duvall, on the other hand, was a welcome surprise. Since it had been a long time that I'd seen any Duvall film, his short appearance was quite memorable in its own right.
In conclusion, a memorable film with memorable moments and memorable acting. It has a lot of emotional value than 10 films combined and a lot thought-provoking scenes that will make you ask yourself; What would I do?
9.0/10
