What will happen after the end of the world? There is a man and his young son wandering around after the end of the world, trying to keep the dream of American civilization from being lost. They both start an exciting and dangerous journey by traveling to the sea, trying to do whatever they can to explore in that journey of civilizations and cultures. The man and his son try to avoid those roving gangs of savage humans who turn them into slaves after they arrive at those places that seem more exotic and brutal.
It hits a few tinny, sentimental notes. Still, I admire the craft and conviction of this film, and I was impressed enough by the look and the performances to recommend that you see it.
Quickflix
October 21, 2010
Hillcoat does his best, and for the most part, he succeeds. The horrifically desolate landscape and the drab greys and cobalt blues of the scarred sky pervade every shot.
Hillcoat certainly provides the requisite seriousness, but what the movie lacks is an underlying sense of innocence, a sense that, however far humanity has sunk, there is at least some chance of rising again.
The Road is a highly emotional, involving, palm-sweatingly tense movie that will scar you for life if you let it. Exhausting to watch but oddly exhilirating to experience, it's a film you'll watch once but will never forget.
In this haunting portrait of America as no country for old men or young, Hillcoat -- through the artistry of Mortensen and Smit-McPhee -- carries the fire of our shared humanity and lets it burn bright and true.
Maclean's Magazine
March 11, 2014
The Road is one of the year's strongest dramas. But it's no picnic, to say the least.
Hillcoat's movie is a resounding triumph. Stunning landscape photography sets the melancholy mood, and Nick Cave's wrenching score reinforces it. But it is the performances that ultimately hold the film together.
