There are only two books that I regret having read – “The Future of an Illusion” by Sigmund Freud and “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy.This isn’t because either one of these books is bad or poorly written. It’s because they are two of the most powerful books I’ve ever read, and I know that they forever changed my outlook on life and not necessarily in a positive way.
Today, I'm writing about the 2009 film adaptation of “The Road,” which I finally got around to watching a few days ago. I read the novel, which won a Pulitzer Prize, over a year ago, and I just knew deep down that there was no way that a movie could capture this story. I was actually so affected by the novel, that about five minutes into the movie, I almost turned it off out of want not to revive the feelings the novel gave me.
While I feel that the movie does come up short of the novel, it was closer than I expected. They hit all the high points, but still come up short of the novel’s overall tone and effect.
The movie stars Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duval and Charlize Theron and was released in November 2009.
For those of you who have not seen the movie or read the book, it’s about a father and son who are traveling south through a bleak, cold, post-apocalyptic America after some unnamed cataclysm has struck the world. The sky is perpetually grey. Ash covers everything, and all the plants and animals have died off. The few people who are left have either turned cannibal or are barely surviving by scavenging for food.
On a positive note, “The Road” is likely the greatest father-and-son book/movie ever written/made. I figure that those of us with children can’t help but put ourselves in the place of the story’s characters and ask yourself, “What would I do?” Doing so makes reading the novel and watching this movie an all the more personal experience. Both will definitely move you out of your mental comfort zone, and if you’re reading this, don’t say you haven’t been warned.
I waited a long time for this movie to come out. The original release date was backed up well over a year and when it was released it was a long time before it showed up around here. I feel the same way about the book (despite the horror I felt when I realized that it was a pick from the Oprah book club), and I've read it at least three times.
ReplyDeleteI've seen the movie and I enjoyed it. I haven't read the book though. It is a very powerful movie with the choices that the characters have to make.
ReplyDeleteLee, I wondered how they were going to handle the scene near the end of the book where the man and the boy encounter the pregnant woman with the other two men. Not surprisingly, they left that totally out of the movie. It's one of the most awful things I've ever read.
ReplyDeleteShayne, if you liked the movie, you should read the book. If you thought the movie was powerful, the book will blow your mind.
Lee, I loved the book. And you're right, the tone and content are a powerful thing, much more so, I think, if you are a parent. I think one of the reasons I loved it so much, was the absolute focus on the father and son's relationship, that it made the post apocalyptic world around them almost seem a mere backdrop. My last semester in school, my Lit professor recommended it to me, with the warning, "McCarthy's novels can be tough to read, and leave you emotionally exhausted." He was right, but it was SO worth the journey. I have been curious as to how the movie held up, and will have to put it in my queue from Netflix.
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