The Road

[theotherguy]

I just finished reading the novel The Road by Cormac Mcarthy (author of No Country for Old Men, etc.) and thought it was excellent, easily one of the best novels I've ever read. Its basically an incredibly depressing and gritty post-apocalyptic novel about a man and his son trying to survive and find better ground in a bleak and inhospitable world.

I just learned that a film adaptation was made, and was released about a month ago in limited theaters. Unfortunately the last showing in my area was today, so I just missed it. Did anyone see it? Was it any good?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbLgszfXTAY

The movie has gotten pretty mixed reviews. I've heard it criticized as "A zombie flick with literary pretensions" but that's exactly why I want to see it!

 

[dfc05]

I saw it last month and reviewed it in the old thread. The stuff I have spoilered are more book spoilers than film spoilers, so go ahead and read them if you've already read the book. I seem to be the only person here who's seen it, which is surprising since a bunch of y'all seem to have read and enjoyed the book. I'm hoping to see it again with a couple of friends sometime over break. It seems people's opinion on the film improves after the second viewing. Also, I think people who haven't read the book tend to like it a lot less since there's not a strong plotline to follow, but people who liked the book are more on the "decent" to "very good" side of the scale. One of my friends who liked the book also liked the film. His brother didn't like the film, but hadn't read the book (and my friend expected he wouldn't have liked the book either).

My tldr version of the review would be "very good but some of it seemed rushed/choppy."

Also, I thought they had just expanded the release last week, so I'm surprised it's no longer showing where you are. The company in charge of this film totally sucks.

I saw it today. Advance warning: I suck at reviewing things since I'm really un-opinionated and indecisive. Also, having read the book a few times, I anticipated half the dialogue before it was said, so that felt really strange and threw me off a little. I keep overanalyzing whether I liked or disliked things because of the movie itself, or in relation to the book.

I think I'd rate it somewhere around 8 to 9 out of 10. It was pretty faithful to the book although the order of some scenes were moved around. The boy did seem a lot older than in the book (he wasn't much shorter than Charlize Theron!) but there wasn't much option so I don't fault them on it.

Visually, it was very good (and by "good" I mean bleak ). There was only one part I noticed where the trees still had a lot of brown leaves conspicuously hanging on them, but other than that, the world looked dead enough. One of my favorite scenes was when

Spoiler

the trees start falling down around them. That's definitely a good one to see in a movie theater, or with a really good sound system.

It seems a good number of critics had issues with the soundtrack being intrusive. I noticed the music when it was playing but didn't mind it that much. I also thought the voice-overs were done fairly well. Viggo mostly spoke over scenes where he and the boy are just walking.

Overall, I really loved the very first 10-15 minutes of it. They seemed to load most of the more devastating vistas toward the beginning. I wasn't as much a fan of the rest of the first half -- it seemed a little choppy. For example, some scenes like

Spoiler

when they get to the waterfall and swim around for a little bit

were allotted 15 seconds of time, so they weren't able to add anything significant. I thought the last half was very good though. I was even fine with the ending. I kinda had hopes that the last paragraph of the book would somehow be read or conveyed in the movie. It wasn't there, but it wouldn't have fit anyways. The entire movie did a good job on an emotional level as well.

[edit] Just checked listings for Houston and it's only spending a single week in the normal AMC theater for the "expanded" release. Marketing/release schedule for this movie was a total disaster.

 

[theotherguy]

Well, I can honestly see why people who aren't familiar with the book wouldn't like the film. The plot is a bit straightforward for a film, not a lot of change in scenery.

 

[smwScott]

I loved the book. I thought the film was pretty good.

The book was always going to be better though, it just isn't all that well suited to film.

 

[theotherguy]

I just saw the movie and I was pretty disappointed. It loses a lot in translation, mainly the exposition provided by the man's inner thoughts.

They also edited scenes to make them really choppy and short, for instance:

Spoiler

The part where the trees fell on them. Extremely random in the movie, completely sensible in the book. It wasn't even snowing in the movie.

and also

Spoiler

The stupid line from the kid while the dad is crying at the piano. In the book they just so happened to walk by a mirror.

Also, the kid was way too old. It looked ridiculous with the guy trying to carry him around.

 

[dfc05]

Ah, sorry you didn't like it. I don't know whether I liked it because I thought it was genuinely good or because I wanted it to be good. I'd been anticipating it for over a year so I had a lot of hopes piled up on it. Also, the trailers sucked so much that the film was definitely better in comparison.

I agree that

Spoiler

the tree scene was noticeably random, since they transitioned from "Oh no cannibals chasing woman and kid" directly to "Oh no trees!" But I guess I'm a sucker for camera shots pointed dizzyingly straight up at trees falling down, so I was ok with it

 

[knut]

i'm not quite sure how i feel about this, i just got finished watching it. far too many of my favourite parts of the book were removed, and some scenes weren't what i expected but i guess that's always the way with transitions such as these.

Spoiler

particularly disappointed in the lack of the hooded/robe wearing cannibals march, and the cut from finding the cellar, grabbing an axe and then suddenly appearing in the bomb shelter REALLY confused me. that was where they were meant to find the slaves stored in the 'meat locker' of the house, but it's cut, though as i said it leads up to just fine. very odd. i managed to find the scene online along with a explanation with why the baby on the fire scene was also cut. oh well

i guess it was good, but not what i was expecting. michael k williams of the wire fame played a good three minutes too, i thought. love that guy.

 

[the cow says moo]

Spoiler

Spoilers are for fags.

Can I get a spoiler-free review.

 

[theotherguy]

Spoiler

Spoilers are for fags.

Can I get a spoiler-free review.

Okay, so if you haven't read the book, here's a basic synopsis:

The Road is about a guy and his son trekking across a deserted, post-apocalyptic landscape in what appears to be the Southern United States. They are trying to get to the coast, and then finally further south to get to warmer temperatures. The entirety of the movie consists of them struggling to survive in a world that is filled with cannibals, criminals, and which has no living animal or plant life. The movie is intensely sad, sometimes terrifying, and a bit confusing. It is not the kind of movie that gives you hope, or lifts you up in any way -- but its no slasher film either.

Pros:
*Lots of literary symbolism and plot points to think about
*Some really good acting
*Gritty, desolate art style that really puts you in the situation
*Some nice, brutal action scenes

Cons:
*Some choppy editing that can make it confusing.
*Very very little exposition on what the apocalyptic disaster actually was.
*Some pretty weird lines that don't really have a place in the movie.
*The kid is too. damn. big.

 

[theotherguy]

Spoiler

particularly disappointed in the lack of the hooded/robe wearing cannibals march, and the cut from finding the cellar, grabbing an axe and then suddenly appearing in the bomb shelter REALLY confused me. that was where they were meant to find the slaves stored in the 'meat locker' of the house, but it's cut, though as i said it leads up to just fine. very odd. i managed to find the scene online along with a explanation with why the baby on the fire scene was also cut. oh well

Spoiler

the slaves in the meat cellar scene wasn't cut out. It was one of the best scenes in the movie. They find the slaves in the cellar before they go into the bomb shelter, much like the book. There was some choppy editing when they find the bomb shelter though. In the book, there is this feeling of utter desperation as they're picking through this farm looking for anything to eat that they're digging in the dirt for rotted apples and stuff, and the man happens upon this clangy sound and starts digging to find the shelter. In the movie they just kind of go straight to the bomb shelter with nothing leading up to it.

 

[knut]

Spoiler

the slaves in the meat cellar scene wasn't cut out. It was one of the best scenes in the movie. They find the slaves in the cellar before they go into the bomb shelter, much like the book. There was some choppy editing when they find the bomb shelter though. In the book, there is this feeling of utter desperation as they're picking through this farm looking for anything to eat that they're digging in the dirt for rotted apples and stuff, and the man happens upon this clangy sound and starts digging to find the shelter. In the movie they just kind of go straight to the bomb shelter with nothing leading up to it.

then there's something wrong with my copy of the film, as it's how i said in my spoiler which is really odd. i also presumed it was cut because on an article i was reading about cut content, it had the meat cellar scene embedded as a video, so i've seen it, just not in my version of the film. quite annoying.

*Very very little exposition on what the apocalyptic disaster actually was.
.

isn't this true to the book, though? i don't recall ever finding out what it was when i was reading it, and for the better if you ask me. i like the mystery of it all, not knowing what it was but knowing that it was cripplingly devastating.

 

[Solaris]

Yeah it's true, the book tells us very little. I remember reading that when they were first testing nuclear bombs a few people thought it might set the atmosphere on fire. Thats what I think may be the case in the Road, the whole air ignited for a minute or so, burning everything in the world.

Edit, just saw the film:

SPOLER:



What happened to the commune at the end? Why make them a family instead? Capitalist propaganda probably.

 

[jverne]

No, you can't set the atmosphere on fire if you don't have any combustible material in it. Well if you super heat it you might call it "burning" but it would be just super heated gasses/plasma.

 

[jimbo118]

What happened to the commune at the end? Why make them a family instead? Capitalist propaganda probably.

Was there a commune in the book at the end? I remember the kid just meeting the family.

Also knut said the hooded marchers isnt in it either? That kinda sux as I remember that scene well in the book, with the people chained up, the catamites, pregnant women etc. Creepy.

 

[theotherguy]

What happened to the commune at the end? Why make them a family instead? Capitalist propaganda probably.

It is a family at the end of the book.

They make no mention of the communes in the movie though, which was disappointing. The guy with the knife was supposed to be from a commune, but they never mention it.

 

[hot564231]

Finished watching, having not read the book I can say I enjoyed it, of course books are better for more content, one of the few mediums you can do that with.

As for the movie, I enjoyed it I felt sorry for the black dude, only wanted some food, but to strip him nude, that's some cold shit *no pun intended*

Btw, whats with the missing thumbs?

 

[Solaris]

It is a family at the end of the book.

They make no mention of the communes in the movie though, which was disappointing. The guy with the knife was supposed to be from a commune, but they never mention it.

Really? I got the impression they took him back to a commune.

Becuase the guy who finds the kid says "There was debate whether to even send someone after you" or something to that effect.

 

[dfc05]

Finished watching, having not read the book I can say I enjoyed it, of course books are better for more content, one of the few mediums you can do that with.

As for the movie, I enjoyed it I felt sorry for the black dude, only wanted some food, but to strip him nude, that's some cold shit *no pun intended*

Btw, whats with the missing thumbs?

In the book, it mentions the thief was missing a thumb because he got cast out of one of a commune (I think... don't have my book on me right now) and that was their punishment. Absolutely no idea why the other guy was missing a thumb though, so that was weird.

I didn't really care about the missing scenes of hooded people going down the road or the roasted baby, since "bad guys roaming around" was pretty well established. I would've expected more complaining about

Spoiler

the live beetle, and the dog at the end

Really? I got the impression they took him back to a commune.

Becuase the guy who finds the kid says "There was debate whether to even send someone after you" or something to that effect.

I always assumed that he was debating with his family. Probably the mom wanted to get him and the guy was more cautious. I think the line was more like "There was a debate about whether we should even come after you" which wouldn't imply there being a commune. And at the end it seems like he's just talking to the mom and the family... I think if he went to a commune they would've mentioned more people being around.

 

[dfc05]

crap double post

 

[jimbo118]

My sister saw it the other day and said it was really violent. Truff?

 

[hot564231]

You really don't see much of the violence, but you hear screams, disturbing screams.

 

[Solaris]

I don't remember anything about hooded people in the book??

However, the one thing that gave me the biggest impression of the situation in the book was left out of the film.

The tribes, when they're hiding and a tribe of people walk past with naked slaves all chained up.

At that point, you realise everything is well and truly ****ed and just how fragile civilisation really is. The moral zeitgeist could be thrown back millenniums, in just a few years.

 

[knut]

I don't remember anything about hooded people in the book??

However, the one thing that gave me the biggest impression of the situation in the book was left out of the film.

The tribes, when they're hiding and a tribe of people walk past with naked slaves all chained up.

they are the hooded folk. i forget exactly if they had hoods on, or robes, but it was something to that effect.

 

[jimbo118]

It said hooded alright.

In the book, the main characters wear face masks too, right?

 

[theotherguy]

However, the one thing that gave me the biggest impression of the situation in the book was left out of the film.

The tribes, when they're hiding and a tribe of people walk past with naked slaves all chained up.

.

I have no remembrance of this scene whatsoever. People keep talking about it. I must have skimmed over it. The same with the baby scene, which didn't make much of an impression on me.

 

[hot564231]

I was watching the trailer again and there one scene I don't think i saw, was a scene with a mad looking guy with an axe?

Anyone see this in the movie?

Perhaps what happened between the mother and the girl and the tree falling down scene?

 

[DEATHMASTER]

Saw the movie, it was as good as it was going to get. At least even in the end there's a ray of hope. (I actually thought the sun was coming out)