The Road

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I will. This thread has me a bit intrigued to see it sooner rather than later. I'll be sure to see if I can pick it up this weekend. My queue is rather crowded at the moment.

I've read "The Road Less Traveled," and the quote you mentioned is in line with the spiritual message of that book (it mirrors the opening statement!)

As to the mother... a simple plot devise to make the story about a father and son? the author is a man... maybe he was touching on the idea of strength, thinking somehow that men are stronger than women. Where in the heck he got that idea, I don't know.
 
This is a tough film to review. This is one of those reviews where the text of the review and the rating have to be taken together, because by themselves both would be misleading.

I can't tell if my rating would improve with another viewing, but I can tell that I'm unlikely to want to sit down again and find out. It's undeniably brilliant at times, but it's quite difficult to know how to rate such depressing success.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the review.
 
You make a good point.

But seriously, I said not to take the rating too seriously. It's good, but I feel like its content makes it difficult to be great. I'd be cool with any criticism, of course, but I imagine we agree than this one's a toughie to rate on a traditional scale.
 
I'm going to watch this one soon and chime in. The only reference point I have here is The Proposition, and I'm sure that's much-more stimulating visually. If we didn't post that in Acid Westerns, that's one. I know Tacitus loves it. I like the visuals but dislike almost everything else.
 
The Proposition is a great film, I already mentioned it in Acid Westerns, asking if it could be considered as one.

I liked The Road as well, but I think Hillcoat could have done a far better job.
I heard he recently directed a short promo film for a western videogame "Red Dead Redemption"
 
I don't think it's a bad movie because it's depressing. I think it's bad because it's a movie about eating, coughing, and walking.
 
I know, I know, I probably shouldn't have said anything, until I'd made my points up in my head.

But how can you not take the rating too seriously? Isn't that, like, the essence of the review? When I read the review I felt like you just slapped the movie at the end as if you were just casually adding "oh and by the way, despite all the positive stuff I've just said, it sucks". And it really doesn't, man!

I kinda get why you hesitate to give it a good rating when it's such a depressing film. Kinda like saying "dude, I watched Schindler's List last night. Such a cool movie, I had a great time watching it". People fringe on that, which is understandable.
But I think a movie that doesn't have an impact on you at all, is a three or lower. A movie that makes you feel, care for the characters etc., deserves a good rating. And even though you don't feel good watching it, does that mean it's not a good movie?
 
I think the problem with the film is that the book was was virtually unfilmable. Hillcoat did a good job, and I don't think it's a poor film by any means, but it's just that if you've read the book the atmosphere is cocooned with dread and told with prose so fine that getting that out of your head and into your eyes is an impossible task
 
What I mean is that the rating doesn't convey my thoughts all that well. As a general rule, the review itself will always explain what I think more than the number. So I'd say the review is the essence of the review, and the rating is for lazy people.

As for the ending; I think I hint earlier than that that I'm not cuckoo-go-nuts for it, like in the second-to-last paragraph. But I'll grant you that it's a weird review. Most of it, I don't say anything particularly good or bad about the film, but simply find ways to describe the feelings it evokes. I actually think that's the most valuable way to review a film like this, or at least the most likely method to let a reader know if it's something they'd like to see or not.


Certainly not, and I'm not suggesting it's not good simply because it makes me feel bad, though I do think it's probably a bit easier to create sheer melancholy than it is to create some other types of emotions. It's not so much that it's sad, but that it's only sad. I think it's good -- and not great -- because it's very single-minded in its goal. It wants to make me feel one specific way for the entire runtime, and it's pretty straightforward about how it achieves this.

The way I look at it is that The Road has modest goals, but achieves them. That's better than a lot of films that may aim higher than their substance and execution can take them, but I think it puts a ceiling on how good the film can be. I think you might agree, for example, that i's not really a clever or particularly interesting film. Just a very serious, unflinching one. That has value, but it's not the kind of thing that blows me away, no matter how well-shot or well-acted a production is.

As for the rating indicating that it "doesn't have an impact on [me] at all" -- that's not how I think of a [rating]3[/rating], personally. To me, that rating simply means "above-average." I could have easily given it a [rating]3.5[/rating], though. I bounced back and forth between the two.
 
This right here.

I agree to an extent that this was unfilmable, but damn...they certainly did a fine job transferring it, IMO.

I meant to pop in here last night and do a pretty heavy analysis of the film (much like I did with The Fountain), but I forgot. I'll see if I can find some time this weekend.
 
I hesitate to give it a good rating because its not a good film. A film that's dark and dreary just for the sake of being dark and dreary does not a magnificent noir thriller make.

I think Meaty hit it on the head earlier.
 
The Road is, in my opinion, the perfect illustration of parenthood. Life after the conception of a child is chaotic, dangerous and full of unsureness. We are limited to what the father experiences trying to raise his son because, I feel, the author is illuminating a very important point; it's just you and your child...against everything. As much as we say raising a child is a team effort between parents, the parents experience this in vastly different ways.

The opening, when the world ends, is the beginning of parenthood. The couple is unaware of what is to come, and this is the greatest fear. The birth of the man's son is the beginning of his journey. His duty, so to speak...which explains why the woman is so distant and hostile to her husband. Eventually, she leaves them both to each other. This starts the painful aspect of being a parent...being alone...having to know the answers. There's no one to turn to and you do the best you can.

Eventually, a parent's defensive mechanisms for their child can blind them to the world they're in...the child is there to remind them of the good in the world...ethical direction. It's not enough to stop the constant drumming in the back of a parent's head; have I prepared them for when I'm gone?

I believe The Road simply illustrates what some, if not many, parents experience when they have a child. The world ends, they see evil everywhere, they try and protect their child, but in the end they have to leave them. More importantly, the child is able to comfort the worries of the parent by illustrating goodness in the absence of it.

At least, that's what The Road means to me.
 
It's not dark and dreary for the sake of being dark and dreary! It's dark and dreary because the book is dark and dreary!

Anyways, I definitely agree with Yoda's review. This really is a personal film, IMO. It's flawless and true to the material, but that's both its strength and weakness. Yoda said it best when he said the text and rating need to be taken into account together. Well, I'll go one step further and say the book and film need to be taken into account together. Otherwise, you're just going to walk away from the film with a "I hated it" or "I loved it." I did the latter. After reading the book I can appreciate how good the film is outside of emotion, and I would say it's round about a [rating]3.5[/rating] or a [rating]4[/rating]. I'd say the latter again, though.

Besides, I think a few people can make the connection as to why I love this film so much, so I'll be the first to admit I'm biased.
 
I like that John, a good summing up, very insightful. Do you have kids yourself? The Road (the book) besides being a prose masterwork brought a lump to my throat so many times when reading about the relationship between the boy and the man. It was one of those books where you feel like you can place yourself in the shoes of the person, so I was happy when the ending came like that.
 
Is the connection related to your affinity for dirty brown clothing? Or cannibalism?

Color me curious.
 
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