Eye Candy #402 - "The Road"

The Road:   Based on Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Road” seems determined to give us the grimiest view of post-apocalyptic America yet.  A man (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) are making their way across the shattered American landscape after an unidentified event has killed off all animals and most of the plant life and mankind, and clouded the sky with ash.  Their destination is the sea, heading south with the hope that their situation and the climate would improve, but along the way they have to dodge other survivors, many of whom have turned to cannibalism to survive, roving the countryside in gangs.  Charlize Theron co-stars in flashback as the man’s deceased wife, with Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce in small supporting roles.  The movie is grim to the point of despair - until the waning few seconds before the credits, there is literally no hope.  We only get the dying embers of what could be called “humanity“, with a complete breakdown in law and order, so the film is a showcase of “okay, how can we make things worse?”  Viggo and McPhee are very good together, though the character of the man can be a bit too much to bear at times - he gets naked at the drop of a hat, and has an insatiable curiosity to open things (hatches, trap doors) that shouldn’t necessarily be opened so willy-nilly.  The film is violent and graphic, particularly when it comes to dealing with any of the cannibals.  But for all that, it’s very watchable and well-made.  But if you are looking for a feel-good movie on a Friday night, this is not that movie.  Woodchuck sez, “Check it out.”