The Road

  • Thread starter Thread starter tramp
  • Start date Start date
Mind you, this is just my interpretation of the film. I wouldn't say it's the definite explanation of the story, but it seems to be the most relevant.

And no, I do not have kids. Although, I often imagine what they will mean to me when I do have them.
 
Everyone has made some interesting and valid points on this film. This is one of the best films I've seen in a long time. The acting is great, the cinematography is excellent, the writing/story has a good message etc. etc.

Mortensen interview:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkJeBZ_29oE&feature=related[/youtube]
 
I finally caught the film last night. I also decided to reread Yoda's review that began this thread. It's a good review, Yoda, and I agree with much of it and would rate it the same, but I think I would disagree that it invoked every feeling it meant to....

I think, for me, where this film really fails is that this is one of those occasions where the art of filmmaking cannot compare to the written word. We, being cinephiles, enjoy films at the level of art and embrace how it is different than literature.

Unfortunately, The Road, no matter the filmmaker, would probably never make a good film. As I was watching it, it seemed to hit the right tone, it certainly explores the relationship of father to son, the acting is wonderful (especially by Viggo), yet it lacks what made the book so incredibly special.

In the end, there is a moment in the book where the Man tells us he cannot shoot the boy. It is a heart-stopping moment and when reading it, I began to sob. Hysterically. Cormac's constant repetition of the meaning of the gun's one bullet had this amazing and heartbreaking payoff.

That payoff fell off in the film and if someone hadn't been watching closely, they may have missed it entirely. I felt nothing. I wasn't even sad at a moment I should have been. I'm not sure what the director could have done differently, yet something so important to the power of story was absent.

Yoda is right, it was a film that was meant to be endured. Yet the book will live on my heart as one of the times where an author reached deep inside my soul and made me feel something I will never forget.

I was left with one lasting impression: that literature should never be fully replaced and those who do not read books are missing out on one of the major joys of life.
 
I watched the film and am currently reading the book. I enjoyed both and so far both are very high quality. I love the color of the film.

That is one thing that stood out most to be. The photography of THe Road, which is absolutely brilliantly bleak, dark, and grim.

The only complaint I have about the film... and maybe the book? Is the abrupt and contrived ending. Up until the last several minutes the film was certainly an "A" in my book.

Did the end seem a little too upbeat and convienent for anyone else also?
 
This is true. But that just passes the complaint along to the book. And, of course, we have to allow people to make value judgments independent of the book.

I wouldn't go as far as saying it's dark and dreary just for the sake of being dark and dreary, but I can't really fault someone for thinking so. There's not an explicit message or moral, which I think makes the dreariness feel a lot less necessary. When it builds towards a real resolution, we tend to view the suffering as having caused that resolution, or helped bring it about, which sort of justifies it for us. Without that, it's hard to shake the idea that the whole thing is just an exercise in manipulation.

Granted, I don't feel that The Road is any of these things, for the most part, but as a general rule I think a story invites them when it depicts such depressing things and simultaneously leaves their purpose, if any, to be interpreted.

Anyway, I hope anyone upset with the rating reads the review, because I can't think of any rating I could give it that would feel quite right.
 
I will add.

I also love the symbolism (cliche' I know) of the bullet as their means of escape from the cruel world and how the film dealt with suicide.

One of my favorite scenes is when the father holds the gun to his son's head ready to pull the trigger rather than allow his boy be cannibalised.
 
Just finished watching it an hour ago - would probably rate it a [rating]2.5[/rating] at best, all things considered. For the record, I already read the book, so I'm not sure how much different it would've been either way, but yeah. Apart from some decent visuals and a couple of scenes that were handled particularly well, it just didn't work for me. It wasn't really depressing, though - at least not incredibly so. I just have a habit of getting used to films like that.
 
tramp, I'd agree with your comments about the transfer from book to screen. The amount of goose flesh I got reading the book was nearly twice that of the film. Generally speaking, however, that's true for all book-to-film transfers.

I was misty eyed more in theaters than I was reading the book; emotionally speaking, the film is more powerful for me. The Man breaking down and crying at the sight of the piano and everything he's lost...I just can't put into words how much that torn me apart to watch but reading did nothing to me.
 
Yeah gooseflesh was definately there for me during the book too. The scenes painted by the words were more upsetting than the film, but I do think because the book was so extraordinarily powerful I might have been expecting too much from the film. Actually I must watch it again to see how it feels without that expectation. I remember the bit with the old man, Robert Duvall was magnificent, that bit touched me a lot.

Iluv2viddyfilms - no I didn't think the ending was upbeat and convenient, after all [spoilers="spoiler"]there was still no guarantee the boy was going to be safe just cos he was with other adults[/spoilers] don't you think? I'd just say a glimmer of hope in all the bleakness would cover it.
 
Im a little unsure of the specific details of the message of this movie but I do believe it has one. Maybe one of you that has read the book can clarify some of these assumptions. Is "The Road" related to "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost? Im sure all of you have read this poem that speaks of "the road less traveled". This excerpt from the poem has been interpreted as taking a path that may be more difficult but also more rewarding over the long term. In other words, "dont do what is popular, do what is right".

A lot of talk goes on between the boy and his father about being "the good guys" by not killing themselves or resorting to cannibalism. There is also the instance where the father has the thief that steals their belongings strip down and left with nothing. The boy has a real problem with this but the father has no sympathy for the man. This was probably done to teach the boy that stealing is wrong (and they are the "good guys"). The theme/moral does seem to be, "Even at your toughest times, you should maintain a strong moral fiber etc." If this is the case, then it would explain the reasoning behind making such an effort to make the film so dreary and hopless.
 
I don't think that is true for all book-to-film transfers. I can think of that moment in To Kill a Mockingbird in the courtroom -- "Stand up, Scout, your father's passing through." Goosebumps. And Lord of the Rings game me MANY moments. Both of these films are goosebump worthly!

And about the ending... I felt really weird about that ending. I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

I think it is wonderful, though, that this film really touched you. I was so strangely detached from it. I really think that's great. I never wanted this film to fail and I was rooting for it a long time.
 
I've read the book, and while it certainly fits the theme of "do what is right," I'd say the similarities to Frost's poem end there, except insofar as both use the idea of a road as a metaphor for life.

I think your interpretation about the importance of doing good at all times -- even when it's incredibly inconvenient -- is spot on, however. There's a lot about the book and its message that I'm less-than-sure of, but that's the one theme that comes through unmistakably.
 
Yes, tramp. I remember when you first heard about the details, you were rooting for Viggo to get his Oscar.
 
Interesting post about the connection to the Frost poem. I can see that, but what I really think the moral connection has to do with is parenting.

When I read the book (film still on my Netflix queue but I think I'll go see if Redbox has it) the theme that literally bashed me in the face was that of the love between a parent and his child. The man is still teaching his son to be a good person in the worst of circumstances.

That scene in the book at the end....don't want to spoil it .... but all I kept thinking about was my love for my children. It was overwhelming.

McCarthy even stated that this was what it is about. And in the end, while the events are "dark and dreary" his message wasn't. It was about love.
 
There's no doubt that the love for a child is a part of the theme. But I also see a theme of morality and/or spirtuality. Because I would wonder why someone would decide to write a book about the love for a child in a setting of the aftermath of an apocalypse. And also, the mother abandons the child. Not sure what to even make of that. It would seem odd to include this in a "love for a child" story. Maybe the mother is an example of weak morality? You have also probably heard of the book, The Road Less Traveled (link at bottom). The ideas in this book are not too far off from the theme of this movie. There are also a couple of scenes that stick out in my mind that lead me to believe that there may be a spirtual tone. For instance, we get a hint from Duvall's character about what may have happened to his son. Then we also hear this characters views on God. We also hear a little about the father's views on God. Another scene that stood out to me is when they are in an abandoned church and the father speaks about something along the lines of, "When your dreaming that bad things could happen, you're o.k. Its when you are dreaming that things could be good that you should be worried." As he says that, we get a wide shot of a window in the shape of a cross above the heads of the father and the son. Also, what I mentioned earlier about the talk about the two of them being "good guys" definitely hints at some theme of morality. He even asks the stranger at the end of the film if he was "a good guy". You were saying you have it in your queue. Take a look at these scenes, listen to the dialogue to see if you can pick up on this, and see if you can notice any differences between the film and the book.

The Road Less Traveled
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#The_Road_Less_Traveled
 
Well, there's definitely a spiritual aspect to both the book and the film, it's just not as clear what it means. There are very clear Biblical references ("Eli" being the prophet Elijah, talking about his Son as if he were God, and perhaps the time that the clock stops in the flashback to the start of the apocalypse), but exactly what these elements add up to isn't entirely obvious.
 
Back
Top