Written by: Cormac McCarthy (novel), Joe Penhall (screenplay)
Directed by: John Hillcoat
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Molly Parker, Michael Kenneth Williams, Garret Dillahunt
Rated: R
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Plot
In a post apocalypse future, a father and son traverse a dangerous road.
Verdict
This is bleak. It's a series of moments between a father and son as they try to survive. How far is the father willing and able to go? Despite how desperate they both are, the son helps his dad maintain humanity. It's easy to succumb to fear and kill people in the name of protection. It's much more difficult knowing that letting them live could be a costly mistake.
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Review
This is based on the 2007 Cormac McCarthy Pulitzer price winning book by the same name. From the first scene we realize this is a father and son movie about love and devotion. The father's (Viggo Mortenson) one job is keep his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) safe.
This isn't the typical dystopian world with shoot outs and wish fulfillment. The father is scrounging for food and needs socks. Supplies are scarce and he's trying to save his last two bullets for his son and himself. Some fates are worse than death.
I began to wonder how they had made it this far with a kid no less, but as the movie unfolds and we get a few flashback scenes, we realize that they've just started on this journey. It's still impressive that they were able to survive in their house without getting raided or killed though.
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| Paternal devotion in dystopian society. |
The father is prepared to kill his son to spare him. That's a tough decision. This life will never get easier. Men will just get more desperate as what few supplies remain disappear. Is it better or easier to end their lives now rather than waiting? They are traveling to the coast, but nothing awaits them, just more death and destruction. The reason his son is still alive is that the alternative is a difficult decision. The son is keeping the father human. Without his son, the father would resort to killing everyone he meets just to ensure his own preservation. His son saves his humanity and reminds him to be a good guy. The father is trying to impart his wisdom to the son.
This is a society stripped of everything. Everyone left is trying to survive and many willing to take advantage of anyone else to ensure their own lives. It's a zero sum game with no way to win. The best case is that you die without suffering.
It's a lonely life as the father and son try to avoid other people. Other people are dangerous, and this creates incredible moments of tension. The father reassures his son that they are good guys, and that they'll stay good guys. They won't resort to cannibalism.
As a parent this connects emotionally. You can't let your kid be a child. He have to survive a deadly world, and you are his only means to live. You have to make him hard, because otherwise you're leaving him to the wolves. To fight wolves you have to be a wolf.
Guy Pearce appears briefly in the movie. Everyone outside of Mortensen and Smit-McPhee appear briefly. Pearce picks some neat roles. Despite being a top billed star, he's done numerous movies where he has only a couple of minutes of screen time.
The ending is bittersweet. It seems to end on a happy note, at least judging by the music, but this world is only going to be more of the same. It will never get better or easier. The son is relieved, but nothing has really changed.
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