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==Plot==
==Plot==
A man (Mortensen) and his young son (Smit-McPhee) struggle to survive after an unspecified cataclysm has killed all new plant and animal life. Civilization has collapsed, reducing the survivors to scavenging, and in some cases, cannibalism. They search for supplies as they travel south on a road to the coast in the hope it will be warmer. Throughout the journey, the man carries a revolver with two bullets in case they need to commit suicide and suffers repeated bloody coughs. He remembers his wife (Theron) who, shortly after giving birth to their son, lost the will to go on and left them, most likely dieing.
A man and his young son struggle to survive after an unspecified cataclysm has killed all new plant and animal life. Civilization has collapsed, reducing the survivors to scavenging, and in some cases, cannibalism. They search for supplies as they travel south on a road to the coast in the hope it will be warmer. The man carries a revolver, but has only two bullets.

Intermittent flashbacks reveal the man's wife had given birth to the child shortly after the catastrophe. She eventually committed suicide.


After shooting a member of a cannibal gang who inadvertently stumbles upon them, the man is left with only one bullet. Later, the pair explore a large mansion and discover prisoners in the basement: a food supply for their absent captors. When the armed cannibals return, the man and his son hide. With discovery imminent, the man prepares to shoot his son, but the cannibals are distracted by the captives, and the pair get away.
After shooting a member of a cannibal gang who inadvertently stumbles upon them, the man is left with only one bullet. Later, the pair explore a large mansion and discover prisoners in the basement: a food supply for their absent captors. When the armed cannibals return, the man and his son hide. With discovery imminent, the man prepares to shoot his son, but the cannibals are distracted by the captives, and the pair get away.


The man tells his son that they are “good guys” and must control a “fire” inside them, as they succumb to the effects of starvation. When they come across the man's old home, the man breaks down to his wife's memory and his son sees a vision of another boy. However they are soon overjoyed when they discover an underground shelter full of canned food and supplies. They feast, bathe and groom themselves but later hear something rummaging around above, so the man decides they must leave and packs the supplies. They later encounter an old man (Duvall) on the road. The son persuades his reluctant father to feed him something and after a brief stay with the old man, they leave the next morning.
Further down the road, they discover an underground shelter full of canned food and supplies. They feast, bathe and groom themselves. When the man hears rummaging noises around the entrance to the shelter, he decides they must leave. They later encounter a nearly-blind old man (Duvall) on the road. The son persuades his reluctant father to feed him something.


Arriving at the coast, the man goes to scavenge what he can from a beached ship. He leaves his son to keep watch, but the boy falls asleep and they are robbed of everything. After they chase the thief down, the father takes everything from him, even his clothes. When the boy remains upset about what is essentially a death sentence, the father relents. They go back, but cannot find the thief, so they leave behind his clothes and a can of food.
Arriving at the coast, the man goes to scavenge what he can from a beached ship. He leaves his son to keep watch, but the boy falls asleep and they are robbed of everything. After they chase the thief down, the father takes everything from him, even his clothes. When the boy remains upset about what is essentially a death sentence, the father relents. They go back, but cannot find the thief, so they leave behind his clothes and a can of food.


As they pass through a ruined town, they are surprised to find a living beetle, which flies off. The man is suddenly shot in the lower leg with an arrow but kills his ambusher with a flare gun he found from the ship. Going inside to see the dead man with a crying woman, the man staples and bandages his wound but his condition deteriorates as he coughs more blood. He is so weakened by the wound, that they have to abandon their cart and most of their possessions. The man, about to die, emphasizes to his son values in survival and humanity.
As they pass through a ruined town, the man is shot in his right leg with an arrow. He kills his ambusher with a flare gun he found on the ship, but is so weakened by the wound, they have to abandon their cart and most of their possessions. When his condition deteriorates, he realizes he is dying. He again emphasizes to his son the values of self-preservation and humanity.


After the father dies, the son is approached by a man who gives him the choice of joining him, a woman, their two children and their dog. The family had followed the pair for some time out of concern for the boy. The child joins them after being assured they are "the good guys".
After the father dies, the son is approached by a man who gives him the choice of joining him, a woman, their two children and their dog. The family had followed the pair for some time out of concern for the boy. The child joins them after being assured they are the "good guys".


==Cast==
==Cast==

Revision as of 09:58, 31 October 2012

The Road
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Hillcoat
Screenplay byJoe Penhall
Produced byNick Wechsler
Steve Schwartz
Paula Mae Schwartz
StarringViggo Mortensen
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Robert Duvall
Charlize Theron
Guy Pearce
Narrated byViggo Mortensen
CinematographyJavier Aguirresarobe
Edited byJon Gregory
Music byNick Cave
Warren Ellis
Production
company
Distributed byDimension Films
The Weinstein Company (USA)
FilmNation Entertainment (international)
Icon Productions (UK/Australia)
Release date
November 25, 2009 (limited)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million[1]
Box office$27,635,236[1]

The Road is a 2009 post-apocalyptic drama film directed by John Hillcoat and written by Joe Penhall. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 2006 novel of the same name by American author Cormac McCarthy, the film stars Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee as a father and his son in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Filming took place in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and Oregon. The film received a limited release in North American cinemas from November 25, 2009, and was released in UK cinemas on January 4, 2010.[2][3]

Plot

A man and his young son struggle to survive after an unspecified cataclysm has killed all new plant and animal life. Civilization has collapsed, reducing the survivors to scavenging, and in some cases, cannibalism. They search for supplies as they travel south on a road to the coast in the hope it will be warmer. The man carries a revolver, but has only two bullets.

Intermittent flashbacks reveal the man's wife had given birth to the child shortly after the catastrophe. She eventually committed suicide.

After shooting a member of a cannibal gang who inadvertently stumbles upon them, the man is left with only one bullet. Later, the pair explore a large mansion and discover prisoners in the basement: a food supply for their absent captors. When the armed cannibals return, the man and his son hide. With discovery imminent, the man prepares to shoot his son, but the cannibals are distracted by the captives, and the pair get away.

Further down the road, they discover an underground shelter full of canned food and supplies. They feast, bathe and groom themselves. When the man hears rummaging noises around the entrance to the shelter, he decides they must leave. They later encounter a nearly-blind old man (Duvall) on the road. The son persuades his reluctant father to feed him something.

Arriving at the coast, the man goes to scavenge what he can from a beached ship. He leaves his son to keep watch, but the boy falls asleep and they are robbed of everything. After they chase the thief down, the father takes everything from him, even his clothes. When the boy remains upset about what is essentially a death sentence, the father relents. They go back, but cannot find the thief, so they leave behind his clothes and a can of food.

As they pass through a ruined town, the man is shot in his right leg with an arrow. He kills his ambusher with a flare gun he found on the ship, but is so weakened by the wound, they have to abandon their cart and most of their possessions. When his condition deteriorates, he realizes he is dying. He again emphasizes to his son the values of self-preservation and humanity.

After the father dies, the son is approached by a man who gives him the choice of joining him, a woman, their two children and their dog. The family had followed the pair for some time out of concern for the boy. The child joins them after being assured they are the "good guys".

Cast

In the film, none of the characters are given a name, and the credits simply give their role in place of a name.[4][5][6]

  • Viggo Mortensen as Man: Mortensen explained the interaction of the father with his son thus: "They're on this difficult journey, and the father is basically learning from the son."[6]
  • Kodi Smit-McPhee as Boy: At the London Film Festival, Mortensen explained that Smit-McPhee was one of four finalists for the part, all of whom then read with him. Smit-McPhee was unanimously chosen, in particular because he seemed youthful, innocent and yet wise beyond his years[7][failed verification]
  • Charlize Theron as Woman, the Man's wife (appears in flashback). Theron was a fan of the book and had worked with producer Nick Wechsler on the 2000 film The Yards.[8] The woman has a larger role in the film than in the book, with Hillcoat stating "I think it's fine to depart from the book as long as you maintain the spirit of it."[9]
  • Robert Duvall as Old Man (gives his name as Ely; the only proper name for any character in the film)
  • Guy Pearce as Veteran, a father wandering with his family
  • Molly Parker as Motherly Woman, the Veteran's wife
  • Michael Kenneth Williams as Thief
  • Garret Dillahunt as Gang Member

Production

Filmmakers sought bleak scenery for the backdrop of post-apocalyptic America.

In November 2006, producer Nick Wechsler used independent financing to acquire film rights to adapt the 2006 novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy. When Wechsler had watched John Hillcoat's 2005 film The Proposition after reading The Road, the producer decided to pursue Hillcoat to direct the film adaptation. Wechsler described Hillcoat's style: "There was something beautiful in the way John captured the stark primitive humanity of the West in that movie."[10] In April 2007, Joe Penhall was hired to script the adapted screenplay. Wechsler and his fellow producers Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz planned to have a script and an actor cast to portray the father before pursuing a distributor for the film.[11] By the following November, actor Viggo Mortensen had entered negotiations with the filmmakers to portray the father, though he was occupied with filming Appaloosa in New Mexico.[12]

The film had a budget of USD 20 million.[13] Filming began in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area in late February 2008, continuing for eight weeks before moving on to northwestern Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Oregon.[14] Hillcoat preferred to shoot in real locations, saying "We didn't want to go the CGI world."[15] Pennsylvania, where most of the filming took place, was chosen for its tax breaks and its abundance of locations that looked abandoned or decayed: coalfields, dunes, and run-down parts of Pittsburgh.[6] Filming was also done at the 1892 amusement resort (Conneaut Lake Park) after one of the park's buildings (the Dreamland Ballroom) was destroyed in a fire in February 2008. The beaches of Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania were also used.[citation needed] Hillcoat also said of using Pittsburgh as a practical location, "It's a beautiful place in fall with the colors changing, but in winter, it can be very bleak. There are city blocks that are abandoned. The woods can be brutal." Filmmakers also shot scenes in parts of New Orleans that had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina and on Mount St. Helens in Washington.[15] The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike, a stretch of abandoned roadway between Hustontown and Breezewood, Pennsylvania, was used for much of the production.[9]

Hillcoat sought to make the film faithful to the spirit of the book, creating "a world in severe trauma," although the circumstances of the apocalyptic event are never explained. Hillcoat said "That's what makes it more realistic, then it immediately becomes about survival and how you get through each day as opposed to what actually happened."[5] Filmmakers took advantage of days with bad weather to portray the post-apocalyptic environment. Mark Forker, the director of special effects for the film, sought to make the landscape convincing, handling sky replacement and digitally removing greenery from scenes.[6]

Release

Actors Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee, screenwriter Joe Penhall, director John Hillcoat and producer Steve Schwartz at the 2009 Venice Film Festival

The Road was originally scheduled to be released in November 2008. It was pushed back to be released in December, and then pushed back a second time to sometime in 2009. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio decided that the film would benefit from a longer post-production process and a less crowded release calendar.[16] A new release date was scheduled for October 16, 2009.[17] However, according to reports from Screen Rant and /Film, the Weinsteins had decided at the last minute to delay the film to November 25, 2009[3] as a possible move to make the film more of an Oscar contender, bumping their previous film set for that date, Rob Marshall's adaptation of the musical Nine (which was also predicted to be a huge awards contender) into December 2009.

The film had its world premiere in September 2009 at the Venice International Film Festival where it was in competition for the Golden Lion and Silver Lion prizes, and then at the Telluride Film Festival. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.[18]

The DVD and Blu-ray versions were released on May 17, 2010, in the UK,[19] and May 25, 2010, in the United States.[20]

Reception

The film currently holds a 75% Fresh rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 196 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10.[21] It also has a score of 64/100 on Metacritic, based on 32 reviews, indicating generally positive reviews from critics.[22]

Esquire screened the film before it was released and called it "the most important movie of the year" and "a brilliantly directed adaptation of a beloved novel, a delicate and anachronistically loving look at the immodest and brutish end of us all. You want them to get there, you want them to get there, you want them to get there—and yet you do not want it, any of it, to end."[23] IGN gave it four and a half out of a possible five stars, calling it "one of the most important and moving films to come along in a long time."[24] In an early review, The Guardian gave the film four stars out of five, describing it as "a haunting, harrowing, powerful film," with Mortensen "perfectly cast" as the Man.[25] Roger Ebert awarded the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, praising Mortensen and Smit-McPhee's work, but he did criticize the film for not being as powerful as the book.[26] Luke Davies of The Monthly described the film as "gorgeous, in a horrible way, but its greater coolness and distance shows just how difficult it can be to translate to screen the innate psychic warmth of great literature," and suggested the film's flaws "might have to do with the directorial point of view—it all feels too detached, in a way that the book in its searing intimacy does not," concluding that the film has "too much tableau and not enough acting."[27] A review in Adbusters disapproved of the product placement in the film,[28] but, as noted by Hillcoat, the references to Coca-Cola appear in the novel, and the company was in fact reluctant about the product being portrayed in the film.[29] The Washington Post said the film "is one long dirge, a keening lamentation marking the death of hope and the leeching of all that is bright and good from the world...It possesses undeniable sweep and a grim kind of grandeur, but it ultimately plays like a zombie movie with literary pretensions."[30]

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Result Cast/crew
BAFTA Awards 2010 Best Cinematography Nominated Javier Aguirresarobe
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2010 Best Actor Nominated Viggo Mortensen
Best Young Actor/Actress Nominated Kodi Smit-McPhee
Best Makeup Nominated
Houston Film Critics Society 2009 Best Actor Nominated Viggo Mortensen
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2009 Best Actor Nominated Viggo Mortensen
Best Cinematography Won Javier Aguirresarobe
Satellite Awards 2009 Best Art Direction & Production Design Nominated Chris Kennedy
Toronto Film Critics Association 2009 Best Actor Nominated Viggo Mortensen
Utah Film Critics Association 2009 Best Actor Won Viggo Mortensen
Venice Film Festival 2009 Golden Lion Nominated John Hillcoat
Vits Awards 2010 Best Photography Won Javier Aguirresarobe
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards 2009 Best Actor Nominated Viggo Mortensen
Best Screenplay, Adapted Nominated Joe Penhall

References

  1. ^ a b "The Road (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  2. ^ "NME". NME. November 11, 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
  3. ^ a b "'The Road' Delayed... Yet Again". Screen Rant. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
  4. ^ "A New Poster for The Road". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Vancheri, Barbara (April 24, 2008). "Filming wraps up on post-apocalyptic The Road". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
  6. ^ a b c d McGrath, Charles (May 27, 2008). "At World's End, Honing a Father-Son Dynamic". The New York Times. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
  7. ^ "'Road' actor finding celebrity at a young age". Toronto Sun. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
  8. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (January 14, 2008). "Charlize Theron hits The Road". Variety. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
  9. ^ a b "First Look: 'The Road'". USA Today. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
  10. ^ Fleming, Michael (November 7, 2006). "Road to bigscreen". Variety. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
  11. ^ Fleming, Michael (April 1, 2007). "Penhall paves Road". Variety. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
  12. ^ Schwartz, Missy (October 7, 2007). "Viggo Mortensen May Hit The Road". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
  13. ^ Sullivan, James (October 19, 2008). "A fork (and a bump) in The Road". Boston Globe. Retrieved January 1, 2009.
  14. ^ "Mortensen, Theron on The Road to Pittsburgh". USA Today. January 16, 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
  15. ^ a b Bowles, Scott (August 6, 2008). "Sneak peek: The Road is fiction, but the bleak scenery is real". USA Today. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
  16. ^ Zeitchik, Steven (October 18, 2008). "Road rerouted into 2009 release schedule". The Hollywood Reporter. Reuters. Retrieved January 1, 2009.
  17. ^ "Dimension sets October release date for The Road". Sci Fi Wire. May 1, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2009.
  18. ^ Lambert, Christine (2009). "Photos of The Road premiere at TIFF 2009". Retrieved November 26, 2009.
  19. ^ Foster, Dave (2010). "The Road (R2/UK BD) in May". Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  20. ^ Barton, Steve (2010). "The Road Leads to DVD and Blu-ray in May". Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  21. ^ "The Road Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixter. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  22. ^ "The Road". Metacritic. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
  23. ^ Chiarella, Tom (May 12, 2009). "The Road Is the Most Important Movie of the Year". Esquire. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
  24. ^ James O'Connor (November 19, 2009). "The Road AU Review". IGN. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  25. ^ Xan Brooks (September 3, 2009). "Venice film festival: The Road". The Guardian. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  26. ^ Ebert, Roger (November 24, 2009). "The Road". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  27. ^ "Lost Boys: Jacques Audiard's 'A Prophet' and John Hillcoat's 'The Road'". The Monthly. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
  28. ^ Berman, Sarah (2010). "The Year in Film". Adbusters (87). {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  29. ^ MacKenzie Fegan (November 25, 2009). "The Road's John Hillcoat on Cannibals, Product Placement, and the Apocalypse". flavorwire.com. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
  30. ^ Ann Hornaday (November 29, 2009). "'The Road': Been there, done this post-apocalyptic reckoning". The Washington Post.
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