“I finished the shoot – as you can understand if you’ve seen the movie – kind of exhausted. I felt like we’d accomplished something, like we’d touched on something. This movie made me go to places emotionally that had to do with life and death, hope and despair. People get old, people pass away, people get sick in your family, it’s going to happen to you sooner or later. You don’t know how, but it will. That’s life, that’s nature. And it made me just accept that more and not resist it so much. This movie is a reminder that life is short. Grab onto what’s there, who’s there, who’s around, instead of always thinking, ‘Oh, I wish I had this,’ or ‘I missed losing that.‘ It’s here, it’s now.”
It seems to be implicitly acknowledged among those involved that The Road is uniquely great as a Thanksgiving movie. The relationship between Mortenson’s Man and Kodi Smit-McPhee‘s deftly-played Boy is a familial love story not typically seen in serious film. It is not a stretch to imagine that people will leave theaters this November 25th feeling literally thankful for all that they have, wanting to hug their loved ones. As Michael Kenneth Williams (who memorably played the Thief) wondered, “Who would I be if that situation was to occur? Would I be a selfish person? Would I be giving? Would I keep the fire?”
The Road is by no means a perfect film. It almost certainly suffered from repeated re-editings that makes the viewing experience choppy and occasionally disorienting. It’s conceivable that Hillcoat hoped the choppiness would be seen as stylistic choice, but instead it reads like what it is – a movie that went through one too many test screenings. But despite a tin ear for transition, The Road is still an affecting and effective emotional endurance test bound to please fans of the book and newcomers alike.
