The Road
The other post-apocalyptic movie that came out around that time: The Road. All I knew about this was "Guy and his son wander the very grey wasteland." All you need to know is, "Guy and his son wander the very grey wasteland and try to avoid cannibals."
No, really. There are a lot of cannibals. They never get into what ended the world, but the trees are dead and the animals are all dead, so I suppose cannibalism makes some sense, as you're down to picked over remains of canned food and other people. But still. Lots of cannibals. And, were I a cannibal, I can't say I'd decorate with human skulls - seems like that would scare off one's prey.
There are some great scenes in this movie, and I could watch Viggo do a lot of things, so it definitely gets some points. There's a wonderfully done (if heavy) scene near the beginning where The Man is reminding his son how to kill oneself with a gun, and showing him the two bullets they've saved for just that occasion. Further, the way those two talk about death is lovely, in a strange and kind of unsettling way. On par for a child, but like it's a destination where they'll see the Woman again, and where they'll all be together. When the boy says he wishes he were dead, the man says that's a horrible thing to say, but can't really come up with a reason why. Further great acting when, hiding from cannibals, the man almost kills his son.
And this exchange, which I think was my favorite in the movie:
Man: Do you ever wish you would die?
Old man: No. It's foolish to ask for luxuries in times like these.
The man's paranoia is interesting to watch, as you realize he's convinced someone is following them. However, the heavy-handed exploration of The Darkness Inherent In Man and Man's Inhumanity Towards Man is not so artfully done. Yes, he's paranoid. Yes, he starts becoming a bad guy to keep his son safe. Yes, his son is Innocence and Light personified. We got it. We got it an hour ago. But thanks for giving that dead horse a few extra whacks.
There is a nice bit at the end (which, I must note, was the _only_ nice bit about the end) where it becomes clear that the new family was,in fact, following the man and his son. Sadly, the ending decides to go all sweetness and light once the Man dies, and the kid gets picked up by a new, nice, non-cannabilistic couple, their two children, and their dog. Yay?
And then, just to be very strange, the soundtrack over the credits is a family in the yard, with a lawnmower. Was that supposed to be a flashback? Or a "and no, really, everything is ok in the end" bit?
The flashbacks were, I thought, the best part of the film. I enjoyed that we never got details on how the world ended, and Cherize Theron's role was quite well done. Her suicide scene was just so... tired.
However, I really can't get behind either the 9th grade English class symbolism and exploration of themes, nor the sappy ending.
2.5 stars. Really lost me at the end.
No, really. There are a lot of cannibals. They never get into what ended the world, but the trees are dead and the animals are all dead, so I suppose cannibalism makes some sense, as you're down to picked over remains of canned food and other people. But still. Lots of cannibals. And, were I a cannibal, I can't say I'd decorate with human skulls - seems like that would scare off one's prey.
There are some great scenes in this movie, and I could watch Viggo do a lot of things, so it definitely gets some points. There's a wonderfully done (if heavy) scene near the beginning where The Man is reminding his son how to kill oneself with a gun, and showing him the two bullets they've saved for just that occasion. Further, the way those two talk about death is lovely, in a strange and kind of unsettling way. On par for a child, but like it's a destination where they'll see the Woman again, and where they'll all be together. When the boy says he wishes he were dead, the man says that's a horrible thing to say, but can't really come up with a reason why. Further great acting when, hiding from cannibals, the man almost kills his son.
And this exchange, which I think was my favorite in the movie:
Man: Do you ever wish you would die?
Old man: No. It's foolish to ask for luxuries in times like these.
The man's paranoia is interesting to watch, as you realize he's convinced someone is following them. However, the heavy-handed exploration of The Darkness Inherent In Man and Man's Inhumanity Towards Man is not so artfully done. Yes, he's paranoid. Yes, he starts becoming a bad guy to keep his son safe. Yes, his son is Innocence and Light personified. We got it. We got it an hour ago. But thanks for giving that dead horse a few extra whacks.
There is a nice bit at the end (which, I must note, was the _only_ nice bit about the end) where it becomes clear that the new family was,in fact, following the man and his son. Sadly, the ending decides to go all sweetness and light once the Man dies, and the kid gets picked up by a new, nice, non-cannabilistic couple, their two children, and their dog. Yay?
And then, just to be very strange, the soundtrack over the credits is a family in the yard, with a lawnmower. Was that supposed to be a flashback? Or a "and no, really, everything is ok in the end" bit?
The flashbacks were, I thought, the best part of the film. I enjoyed that we never got details on how the world ended, and Cherize Theron's role was quite well done. Her suicide scene was just so... tired.
However, I really can't get behind either the 9th grade English class symbolism and exploration of themes, nor the sappy ending.
2.5 stars. Really lost me at the end.