The Road

Title: The Road (15)

Year: 2009

Running Time: 111 minutes

Director: John Hillcoat

Cast: Viggo Mortensen (Man), Kodi Smit McPhee (Boy), Charlize Theron (Woman) Notes: Won five awards, won a BAFTA.

Rating: 9

Thoughts:   Following a cataclysm, the world is a hostile place. The man and the boy walk to a better place in the south.

This is bleak, with a very capital B. The lead is excellent as ever and the film looks suitably dismal, with some superbly contrasting flashback scenes.

Despite what could be a plodding story, this instead really keeps going with numerous points of conflict. Perhaps the wasteland has a few too many people in it but endless shots of two people just shuffling about wouldn't make for much of a film!

Instead, there is a clear sense of jeopardy, and you really feel for the main characters. The narrative is dark, brooding, and dismally apocalyptic.

If you have any love of the post-apocalyptic, this is almost as good as it gets.