Directed by John Hillcoat
Written by Joe Penhall, Nick Wechsler
Starring Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Guy Pearce
Rated R for profanity, violence, partial nudity
Rating - 1 bullet hole
All I know is the child is my warrant and if he is not the word of God, then God never spoke. - The Man
Cormac McCarthy’s 2007 Pulitzer Prize winning novel is bleak, haunting, depressing. Also, an unforgettable read that lingered with me days after. I feared that this mood would not translate to film. Thankfully, it does for the most part.
Viggo Mortensen is the Man. He and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) wander the country, orphaned by an unnamed apocalypse. They struggle. Survive. Suffer. Very few people are left. Many of them are bloodthirsty cannibals looking for survivors to consume. But the emaciated Man and Boy push forward aiming for the ocean. Scavenging for sparse food sources. Armed only with 2 bullets. One for each of them if circumstances become dire.
Director Hillcoat is masterful at creating an oppressive atmosphere. Gray skies. Ashen land. Cold rain. Dark nights. Gaunt figures. Blood-stained snow. A world that has ended with a bang and a whimper. When the Man and Boy discover a can of Coca Cola, you feel relief as an audience. When the Man finds a sofa to sit on, you feel comfort. The respites are brief but welcome and necessary.
The biggest detractor from this mood is the inclusion of the Man’s wife (Charlize Theron), a character with a very small part in the novel. She is long dead but haunts his dreams and memories. Her character is not necessary for the film. Her presence reeks of the Factory’s need to have a female character no matter what. Irrelevant exposition not present in the novel.
Viggo Mortensen, as usual, is terrific. His face screams with quiet suffering. Every action he takes is out of fierce love for his son. Kodi Smit-McPhee is also strong as the Boy. He somehow maintains his innocence after all he’s seen. Their relationship is real. Not melodramatic or histrionic at all.
Of course, it’s probably impossible to completely capture the feel of the book. Hillcoat’s direction. Joe Penhall’s adaptation. Javier Aguirresarobe’s cinematography. Warren Ellis and Nick Cave’s score. It comes pretty damn close.
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