Tuesday, January 26, 2010

None More Black

Ee-gah! The Road is easily one of the grimmest, roughest moviegoing experiences I have ever had. I can only assume the same can be said for Mothra, who joined me a the local theatre for this gutwrenching tale of fatherly love in a post apocalyptic hellscape. Having read the stunning novel, I at least knew what I was getting into but it still didn't dull the impact of this dark, dark tale.

Horrific. Hopeless. Nauseating. Many negative words could be used to describe this film but you could just as easily call it masterful, inspiring and incredible. I was captivated from the first shot and left with my mind fully blown. It is certainly a tough slog but worth every second. As grim as it is, the small flicker of hope that burns throughout does survive to the end and saves it from simply being a repeated punch to the face like American History X or Requiem for a Dream. I give it a 10.

It's an absolutely amazing story and the movie does justice to Cormac McCarthy's poetic words. The film captures the very palpable sense of real evil in a world where the few surviving humans desperately struggle to simply exist and no one is able to be trusted. The bond between the father and son at the core of the tale and the undying love carrying them through is almost unbearable at times but provides a handle to hold onto in the grey storm raging all around them.

What I didn't get was how the book is so revered and a Pulitzer prize winner yet the movie seemed to disappear without a trace. Where were the movie critics singing its praises? Why wasn't it as lauded as the novel? Almost every movie suffers in comparison to the book but this film did such a terrific job transferring the emotions and power onto the screen that I'm surprised it wasn't a bigger hit, monetarily or critically.

I'm surprised too. The direction was great and the acting was fantastic, especially the super badass Viggo Mortensen. I just don't get it. Maybe it's because it's the ultimate anti-date movie. It's hard to hold hands when your cringing and watching the screen through your fingers.

1 comment:

Listmaker said...

every recent review of yours are of movies that i've been meaning to see but haven't. damn you crispin!!