The Road (2009)

Director:

John Hillcoat

Writers:

Cormac McCarthy (novel)
Joe Penhall (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

2 December 2009 (France)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

In a moment the world changed forever.

Plot:

A post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive by any means possible.

Plot Keywords:

Post Apocalyptic | Snow | Shopping Cart | Pistol | Murder

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Viggo Mortensen	...	Man
Kodi Smit-McPhee	...	Boy
Robert Duvall	...	Old Man
Guy Pearce	...	Veteran
Molly Parker	...	Motherly Woman
Michael K. Williams	...	The Thief (as Michael Kenneth Williams)
Garret Dillahunt	...	Gang Member
Charlize Theron	...	Woman
Bob Jennings	...	Bearded Man
Agnes Herrmann	...	Archer's Woman
Buddy Sosthand	...	Archer
Kirk Brown	...	Bearded Face
Jack Erdie	...	Bearded Man #2
David August Lindauer	...	Man On Mattress
Gina Preciado	...	Well Fed Woman

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence, disturbing images and language.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS | Dolby SR

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44940) | Finland:K-15 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Ireland:16 | UK:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Abandoned Turnpike Tunnels, Breezewood, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee reported bonding over eating some crickets and bugs they bought to help them get into character as post-apocalyptic survivors.

Quotes:

The Man: I told the boy when you dream about bad things happening, it means you're still fighting and you're still alive. It's when you start to dream about good things that you should start to worry.

Outstanding Adaptation

I read Cormac McCarthy's novel a few years ago & figured it would be made into a movie (this was when "No Country for Old Men" was playing) but I wondered how they could make this extremely grim tale into something that people would want to see.

This film was every bit as grim as the novel and it seemed to be a faithful adaptation of it. The characters seemed more believable in the film than in the novel. This is probably due to the medium but Viggio Mortenson did a fabulous job as the Protagonist (the unnamed father) and his son was also great. They both were tremendous and brought a lot of character development and engagement to an otherwise totally bleak story.

I loved Robert Duvall's turn as the grizzled survivor. It was a supporting role sure to win an Oscar nomination. I think this will win more than its share of Oscar nominations, for Viggio at the very least.

Great film, go check it out.