FargoReviews.com

Another movie from Cormac McCarthy(Brokeback Mountain, No Country for Old Men), The Road, is no playing on the off Broadway screen at the Fargo Theatre.

The Road of the title is apparently the path taken by the few surviving humans after an unspecified global disaster.  There are apparently few human survivors, and many are sick with an unspecified malady which could be radiation poisoning.  But it could also not be.  The idea of a nuclear holocaust isn’t born out by the fact that everything is damaged, strewn about and in disarray.   In other words, the damage doesn’t seem to be in any way localized.  In the beginning, thee ae fires which continue on a smaller scale.  The sky is gloomy, finding something to eat a problem.  Many of the survivors apparently resort to cannibalism.  But not so our heroes, a man and his c. 12 year old son, played intensely by Viggo Mortensen and Kobi Smit McPhee.  Their pre and post disaster story is told through flashbacks as they make their way along The road to presumably warmer climes.
The movie is about their adventures, if you can call them that, along the journey.  Their encounters with other humans are almost invariable with those looking for other humans to kill and eat.

One could say that the movie is a good versus evil allegory.  It could also be viewed as a study of the age old question man inherently good or inherently evil?”  Or, it could be viewed as a dark adventure story to add to the ever growing list of post apocalyptic stories.  I did find it thought provoking, although sometimes boring and not always fun to watch.  Smit McPhee’s part isn’t huge, but his performance is more than credible.  The filming in a dark, brownish hue an appropriate touch.  I thought a typical good art house offering.

In some ways, The Road is a lot like The Road Warrior, and it’s sequels, but I think it’s a lot more serious than that.  For a comparison with other movies that would determine whether you would like this or not. The Lord of the Flies might be a barometer.  There’s little action and no humor.  It’s not a musical or costume drama.

Script:    B
Acting:  A
Cinematography:  B
Relavance:  Depends on how you want to view it. A to C.
Necesity to suspend disbelief:   Shouldn’t be a problem.