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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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 Posted - 12/24/2009 : 12:51:59
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The Road
Something very bad has happened to the Earth. Not vampire bad. Not spectacular special effects bad. But bad enough to depopulate nearly every place. Every survivor knows things will only get worse, and there's no black humor to help them on their way. Black and white and shades of grey predominate.
Boy, is it bleak! Only once or twice does the sky split open as though sliced by a weapon. There's a hint of light, of hope.
Some people try to head for the warm. Temperature is clearly an indication of how bad things are. And, because this is a cautionary tale for us all, no one has a name.
And so we meet The Man who is travelling along The Road with The Boy. We know the kid is his boy because we've had a bit of back story in which The Woman chose a different road.
That's it. They walk along the road. They keep walking, scavenging but not even daring to think of killing ... like those who've been forced into cannibalism. But they're not really a threat. It's just a different choice.
Very rarely they meet someone else. Things happen. Things that provide points of tension on the otherwise grim journey. More choices are made. The Man and The Boy set their moral compass.
And The Man leads The Boy to the sea. There are many ways he cannot go further than that.
But you can't look away from John Hillcoat's film of Cormac McCarthy's novel. Most of the reason is down to Viggo Mortensen, whose intensity demands you hold his hand and let him guide you to the end.
I guess the film could use a few of Beckett's chuckles in its evocation of his kind of reality. Even so, this road is for walking.
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silly 
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
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Posted - 12/24/2009 : 16:45:53
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I really want to see this, so of course it isn't playing in our little town.
I've ordered the book (should be here any time, there's some snowstorm or something that has slowed it down) to tide me over until they release it on video. Thanks for the review. |
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 12/24/2009 : 17:43:44
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| Baffy's review reads very much like the book, whether she was intending it or not. |
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BaftaBaby
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 12/28/2009 : 19:36:50
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quote:
Originally posted by randall
Baffy's review reads very much like the book, whether she was intending it or not.
I never read the book, so any similarity in style is probably supernatural 
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 12/28/2009 : 21:46:18
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quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
quote:
Originally posted by randall
Baffy's review reads very much like the book, whether she was intending it or not.
I never read the book, so any similarity in style is probably supernatural
Based on your review, I'll bet you'ld like it. Also NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. |
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silly
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
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Posted - 01/04/2010 : 15:50:37
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No movie for me (not playing here, can it please be released on video soon?) but I read the book in about a day and a half over Christmas break.
And then I hugged my kids tightly and was thankful I could see the sun and have enough to eat.
Bleak doesn't begin to describe this story. I am really looking forward to how it plays out on film.
Oddly enough I imagined (as I as reading) that Liam Neeson would make a good Man. Can't wait to see what Viggo does with this. |
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demonic 
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 01/17/2010 : 21:21:36
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| It would probably be fair to say that this film is a largely faithful recreation of the novel, but doesn't have quite the same impact. Where the book was gripping and often terrifying, with much of the intensity coming from your own visualisation of the wasted world and the seemingly hopeless journey our man and boy take, the film has its moments but is largely a slow retelling. Viggo is superb and his desperation and holds the centre of the meandering story, and the tiny cameos, particularly from Robert Duvall and Garret Dillahunt are memorable, but it's a bleak film that is quite long and I can understand why it would be hard to like, especially if you haven't read the book. My other half really didn't like it at all; she thought it long and over-indulgent. Both true, depending on what you're expecting. Knowing the book first was definitely better for me, even though it took away all the surprises. Definitely worth it from another completely commited performance by Mortensen and a sad, unshowy and realistic take on the end of the world. There just aren't many stand out moments to really capture the imagination - apart from a quick retelling of the Road you've already seen thanks to Cormac McCarthy in your head. |
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damalc 
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 01/22/2010 : 12:56:54
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superbly written review, BB. i prefer your writing style to McCarthy's.
i've been reading "The Road" but couldn't quite get through it before i saw the film yesterday, the last day that it would be showing here.
Duvall owns his few minutes of screen time (there's a f'n surprise). i love the ambiguous ending, and i was screaming in my head for The Boy to make a different choice.
"The Road" is up there with "Requiem for a Dream" as far as bleak endings go. I get how it would not appeal to a lot of people, just like dozens of other movies i love. |
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damalc
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 01/26/2010 : 02:20:46
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| just saw "The Book of Eli." these two could be the same movie. i halfway expected Eli to meet The Man and The Boy. |
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Montgomery
"F**k!"
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Posted - 01/26/2010 : 22:01:00
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quote:
Originally posted by damalc
superbly written review, BB. i prefer your writing style to McCarthy's.
i've been reading "The Road" but couldn't quite get through it before i saw the film yesterday, the last day that it would be showing here.
Duvall owns his few minutes of screen time (there's a f'n surprise). i love the ambiguous ending, and i was screaming in my head for The Boy to make a different choice.
"The Road" is up there with "Requiem for a Dream" as far as bleak endings go. I get how it would not appeal to a lot of people, just like dozens of other movies i love.
SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!!
Seemed like they were trying to say he would be okay. You didn't get that? I was worried at first, but when I saw the other kids ...
EM :) |
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ci�nas
"hands down"
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Posted - 01/26/2010 : 23:58:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Montgomery
quote:
Originally posted by damalc
superbly written review, BB. i prefer your writing style to McCarthy's.
i've been reading "The Road" but couldn't quite get through it before i saw the film yesterday, the last day that it would be showing here.
Duvall owns his few minutes of screen time (there's a f'n surprise). i love the ambiguous ending, and i was screaming in my head for The Boy to make a different choice.
"The Road" is up there with "Requiem for a Dream" as far as bleak endings go. I get how it would not appeal to a lot of people, just like dozens of other movies i love.
SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!!
Seemed like they were trying to say he would be okay. You didn't get that? I was worried at first, but when I saw the other kids ...
EM :)
Yes. Surely it's as near to being a happy ending as you could get in the circumstances (which are that we're watching the end of the world, or at any rate the end of mankind).
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damalc
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 01/27/2010 : 01:59:18
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quote:
Originally posted by lamhasuas
quote:
Originally posted by Montgomery
quote:
Originally posted by damalc
superbly written review, BB. i prefer your writing style to McCarthy's.
i've been reading "The Road" but couldn't quite get through it before i saw the film yesterday, the last day that it would be showing here.
Duvall owns his few minutes of screen time (there's a f'n surprise). i love the ambiguous ending, and i was screaming in my head for The Boy to make a different choice.
"The Road" is up there with "Requiem for a Dream" as far as bleak endings go. I get how it would not appeal to a lot of people, just like dozens of other movies i love.
SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!!
Seemed like they were trying to say he would be okay. You didn't get that? I was worried at first, but when I saw the other kids ...
EM :)
Yes. Surely it's as near to being a happy ending as you could get in the circumstances (which are that we're watching the end of the world, or at any rate the end of mankind).
i'm not so certain. sure, the Guy Pearce character said he was a good guy, but that don't make it so. i think it's a 50/50 shot on why the woman said she was so happy to find The Boy. |
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BaftaBaby
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 01/28/2010 : 14:50:21
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quote:
Originally posted by damalc
superbly written review, BB. i prefer your writing style to McCarthy's.
Why thank you, kind sir!
Ending -- well, while I was watching I assumed the kid would be safe. Then, on the way home, I thought -- oh, but what if ...
Because you never really reach the end of the road, do you? <cue mystery music> 
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damalc
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 01/30/2010 : 13:24:40
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| and another thing -- when did Charlize Theron lose her star power. like with "Hancock," i didn't know she was in "The Road" until i saw her. i know The Man and The Boy were the focus, but why do you not promote the gorgeous Academy Award winner in your film? |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 02/16/2010 : 14:43:01
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The Road
Like damalc has said, it's so strange that this and The Book of Eli are out at the same time. The Road even has a character called Eli.
I didn't find the ending ambiguous at all. I just found it annoying that (spoiler) as soon as his dad dies another family conveniently pops up who have supposedly been following them. If it's supposed to be ambiguous then it should have been done a lot better.
Cannibalism is extremely rare, even in starvation circumstances, so it always annoys me when it suddenly becomes all the rage in post-apocalyptic scenarios. It also doesn't make sense that humans (not a very hardy species) have survived when (virtually) all other animals have died. On top of that, a sufficiently small population has evidently survived that the previously manufactured canned and dry goods should still be plentiful. Finally, why are trees continually falling over? Even totally rotten trees will remain standing for ages.
Despite all that, I really enjoyed and was gripped by it. Excellent performances by the two leads, particularly Mortensen of course.
5/5 |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 02/17/2010 : 02:30:00
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| Um, where are this film's Oscar nominations?! |
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The Road
