In the undeniably brilliant hands of the Coens, McCarthy’s novel “No Country for Old Men” made the leap to the silver screen as if destiny had sought it out. The result was a masterpiece that ripped through the film industry with McCarthy’s desperate and, at times, nihilistic voice. Once No Country’s power was on center stage at the Oscars, the demand for the writer flowed and has never subsided. Now, this notable supplier of source material has returned to theatres in director John Hillcoat’s The Road.
The tale offered this go-around is one of a man and his boy trying to survive in post-apocalyptic America. Little is know about the force that has so dramatically affected the Earth, but what is left is a barren landscape almost completely devoid of vegetation and life. The plants and trees are dying and consequently the food chain has been irrevocably disrupted. With seemingly no food left to sustain them, the man and his boy try to keep moving in the hopes that they can survive a world in chaos.
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| Man considers making Boy flip for the last Coke on Earth. |
From step 1, the film hits you like a sledgehammer with an overwhelming sense of despair that refuses to relent until the end credits role. The “Man” and “Boy “, going by the novels’ generic naming convention, go through such pain and horror that it takes a degree of strength to continue watching the story unfold. The atrocities witnessed by the two travelers, including one scene involving the cellar of a pack of cannibals, are sure to stay with viewers for days afterwards.
This is precisely what makes McCarthy’s work so singular. Just as No Country dealt in evil absolute in form of assassin Anton Chigurh, The Road defines desperation through the Man and Boy. There is no middle ground and the story’s destination is seemingly preordained by some higher power out of human reach.
The grinding world of The Road, defined by inescapable forces of what is to be, contributes to the film’s allure, but also, curiously, restrains its impact. By maintaining an even keel of utter despair, the picture does not offer the vicissitude, or contrast, to round out the emotion.
All in all, the film is a shinning example of quality filmmaking and wonderful acting that proves to a beacon in an industry inundated with remakes and gimmicky effects. Viggo Mortensen is revelation as the Man and the A-list cameos, headlined by the gritty Robert Duvall, make The Road brim with intensity. Come to the film prepared, however, because once you embark on McCarthy and Hillcoat’s journey, there is no detour.