Throughout all of the Oscar and awards hype which occurred just a few weeks ago I had a major problem. Those who know me can testify to this problem. Well, in fact, it’s less of a problem and more of a grievance. You see, as far as I was concerned the Academy and Bafta had overlooked a true masterpiece and this greatly upset me.
Avatar looked stunning.
The Hurt Locker was gripping and thrilling in equal measure with fantastic lead performances.
I am assured that Colin Firth and Jeff Bridges both did stellar jobs.
But none of these films was The Road
The Road was a film I had been desperately looking forward to ever since we read the book in silly voices to kids at camp in 2008. Looking back on it, this was actually highly inappropriate considering the harrowing nature of the source material but in a funny voice you would never be able to tell. Anyway, I digress.
Last September I was lucky enough to be at the Venice Film Festival where I managed to get tickets to see this glorious film 4 months before it came out in Britain and just 2 hours after it had its world premier. Like I said, I was lucky.
Tonight I decided, for some reason, that I would re-visit the film and see if it still held up all these months later. And bloody hell did it hold up!
From the moment the film opened it had me gripped. The first hour is harrowing beyond belief and at points tonight I moved towards turning it off, worried that I just couldn’t handle it all again. However, when you get over that completely justified start you settle in to something more than just a dark apocalyptic drama. The relationship between the man and the boy is beautifully played out; their roles continually reversing to the point where you don’t know who is leading who anymore. Viggo Mortensen deserved a major award for his portrayal of The Man and newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee is mesmerizing. It is very rare to find a child actor who doesn’t sound like they are reading lines- I’m looking at you young Daniel Radcliff- but Smit-McPhee achieves it. He is key to us believing that all of this is real and as a result of his performance I never once doubted what I was witnessing.
A lot of people have called this film depressing and I am inclined to disagree. I think it is beautiful. It is a story of the love of a father and lengths he will go to, to protect his son. It is also a story about hope and humanity. In the face of annihilation, can we live on? This film answers with a massive and resounding yes.
It is a truly beautiful 5 star film and if you haven’t seen it then I whole heartedly recommend that you do. If I ever make a pieces of cinema half as fantastic, beautiful, thought provoking and uplifiting (yes, uplifiting) then I’ll die a very happy man. Well done John Hillcoat.
Later days
xxx
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