Reaction about the Movie The Road - Essay Example

Reaction about the Movie "The Road" The Road presents an upfront story of the desolation of America. An adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic tale, the movie presents the journey of a father and a son, and the challenges they endure through a burned America. The director does a magnificent job in presenting the post-apocalyptic world in a realistic manner through melancholy, nervousness, ineptness, trepidation and discomfort. The movie, through Viggo Mortensen and his son, Kodi Smit-McPhee, proves that life after the end is not a rosy affair. Flashback scenes show Charlize Theron, who acts as the mother of the son, and the wife of the man. Other complimentary characters are introduced as the theme of the story builds gradually. The Road is an awesome movie with well-coordinated scenes that result in a tear-jerking film on how a family struggles together in search of a better day. No depiction of the events that had just happened to earth is given. In any case, there is no need for that since no explanation is valid enough for the horrific scene that the movie presents. The viewers see a horrid scene of ash and a planet that is reduced to a vanishing, crumbling husk. There is no food or any form of life or a habitable place. Human bodies are strewn all over, bodies of survivors who were scared of cannibalism and had given up hope. Viggo and his son saunter to the south, closer to the equator, to avoid the harsh winter conditions. That presents the only hope in the movie “the road”, a road where humans are now cannibals and have to eat each other to survive, creating a dreadful scene of misery. The few survivors are no longer morally upright and need to feast on each other with abandon. An interesting contrast is created between “good guys” and “bad guys”, and this presents the concept of morality captivatingly. Morality and humanity drive the thesis in a simple approach that is easy to understand by even non-movie enthusiasts. Viggo presents a brilliant performance that typifies a man who believes in a better day. The characters anticipate an early death, and are perplexed on whether to die or trudge on. The destruction of the world renders father and son homeless, and makes them desperate scavengers with a miserable future and a desperate need to preserve humanity. The movie is unique in the way that it presents the story through the perception of the protagonists. There are no Hollywood representations in the presentation, just two main characters with a realistic need to survive. No illusory scenes require special effects, and this makes the movie the more plausible. The movie shots and photography are admirable, including the appallingly deserted landscape. The script of the movie shows that is a tough road to follow full of interminable agony. The flashbacks present admirable scenes that present hope in the movie and show previous good times. Although they are short, they provide a respite from the despair the rest of the movie characterizes. Even so, they so the harshness and the desperation the family was in at that moment. They had saved three bullets just in case situations worsened and they had to commit suicide. The child, who was born shortly after the catastrophe begun, is not aware of the proceedings that follow. Later, when an intruder attacks, one bullet is spent, and this angers his wife who strolls into the cold naked. A desperate situation makes him nearly kill his son when cannibals discover them in their hideout. It is sickening to watch the two meet people, not knowing whether they are a source of help or they are cannibals. There are prowling gangs who may either kill, imprison, or eat them, and the sad thing is that it is difficult to make a difference. The flashbacks are the only scenes that bring hope in what was previously a better society. A family can watch The Road and be inspired in terms of bonding and family relations. It provides an honest and heartlessly real account of how a family unites and stays together in times of grief. It is not entirely entertaining, but familial attributes bring out the movie’s realism. The father cares for his son and fears for his health and sanity, and this remains a driving factor throughout their journey. He needs to protect his son and so he cannot afford to lose hope or die. This characterizes the modern society in which parents toil for their children, and although they may lose hope at times, children serve as a motivating factor. It is even harder for the son because he had not experienced either side of humanity, and wonders whether they are the good or evil ones. However, the defence measures the two put up makes the son wonder whether they are the good people or the bad ones. His father emphasizes on the value of perseverance and humanity and the need to be a good person. It forms a mutual interaction in which a father learns from son and vice versa. Although it is the end of civilization, life continues and love between family members continues. The movie, however, has some compromises that lessen its quality. For instance, the choice of music is offensive and soft in some scenes. The movie probably needed some forms of sound effects that depict the eerie moments, for instance, just before an attack by the cannibals. Most of the soundtracks do not blend with the story perfectly and fail to create a mood. The music in unobjectionable, but the scene selection on where it should be played is nerve-wracking. However, most of the other scenes compliment with the choice of music and manage to bring out the story from the book. The landscape photography is also complimentary in the mournful mood it presents. Even so, the actors’ faces determine the mood of the movie and strong emotional content can distract a reader from the poor choice of music. In the main, the performances are admirable enough to recommend the movie to someone because it is not a film that one can easily forget. The director, John Hillcoat, does a perfect job in creating emotion from the actors, although the dialogue is noticeably restrained. It is easy to relate to the characters’ emotions in The Road movie. Viewers feel an attachment with the anguish the characters undergo in this emotional movie. The movie has unanticipated twists that further build on the tension that is already unbearable. It is hard to predict what happens next, and whether the family will make it through. It shows he haunting task that parents have and the sacrifices they have to make to guarantee the wellbeing of their children. It is both intense and disheartening and has a significant re-imaging of the book that guides the story. Although it is a slow movie, the “dark film” is intriguing in terms of the performing, plot and character development section. Having watched the movie twice, it still presents the same excitement, only that the suspense is to a considerable extent. The Road presents a thought-provoking film that’s transgresses all generations in a direct manner clouded with integrity. It is a tear-jerking narration with a screenplay builds on the book without much nonconformity as seen in other book adaptations. In the main, it is a presentable film, which may be boring for science-fiction enthusiasts, but considerably exhilarating for viewers interested in a family movie with a compelling storyline. Work Cited John Hillcoat. The Road. Read More