The Road

Don't look for Hope or Crosby on this road. This road is a bleak, dark end of the world movie based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy about a desperate father and his son trying to survive against an unforgiving world. I liked it!

Civilization as we know it has been destroyed. We have no idea what happened, it just did. The world is now cold, grey and overcast. Plants, animals and even insects have disappeared. The only thing left to eat are canned goods and...other human beings. Viggo Mortensen stars as the man who leads his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) south in the hopes of finding a better life. They have to avoid gangs who wouldn't hesitate to rape, kill and eat them (not necessarily in that order), scavage for food and always, always watch their backs.

Along the way they run across an almost unrecognizable Robert Duvall as an old man the boy insists on helping, Michael K. Williams as a thief, Guy Pearce as another survivor who may or may not be a good guy, and a bunch of survivors being kept alive for their meat. Yes, this movie can be very nasty.

Australian John Hillcoat does a nice job creating a hopeless, grey world and keeping the tension alive. Death can be waiting at every turn, with every encounter. Who do you trust? No one.

Mortensen is great as a loving husband and devoted father so determined to keep his son alive he loses track of his own humanity and the idea that they're supposed to be "the good guys". I've enjoyed Mortensen's performances in "Appaloosa", "Eastern Promises", "A Brief History of Violence", and of course the "Lord of the Rings" series.

It's always a pleasure to see Robert Duvall on screen and Michael K. Williams is sympathetic in a brief but important role. However the real find in this is Kodi Smit-McPhee. He's great. Think Billy Mumy before "Lost in Space". Kid actors have the ability of sinking major motion pictures where everything else is good, but Smit-McPhee is not only up to the part, but also looks and sounds like he actually would be the son of Charlize Theron. It's excellent casting.

Kudos to director Hillcoat also for casting the smoking hot Charlize Theron as Mortensen's wife and Smit-McPhee's mom. Seen only in flashbacks, her jawdropping beauty makes the current world they live in even more bleak by her absence. The dilemma facing her is very well done and adds to the movie's overall sense of desperation.

The movie is so good I almost wish I would have let some of the others dance with her at the premiere. Almost.

While the film may be too bleak and dark for some, I enjoyed the look and feel. It was something they could have used more of in Will Smith's "I am Legend". Others have criticized it for not being as good as the book. But this did what a good movie is supposed to do: make me want to read the book. And boogie with Charlize! Yes!