(Before I rant, I think that I should disclose that the only things I know about this movie were gleaned from this trailer and the handfull of stills released a couple of months back. I reserve the right to become even more enraged.)
To highlight a few points raised by Videogum about The Road trailer (thanks Tony):
“One could easily wonder whether they should have ever made a movie in the first place. The human reality of the Apocalypse is unimaginable, but the power of the book is to force you to try. But a movie takes a lot of the work out of it. You’re just confronted with a series of pre-fabricated one-sided images of a wasteland that resembles previous Hollywoodian wastelands (Day After Tomorrow, I Am Legend, the Terminator: Salvation trailer). Moreover, movies tend to be closed systems of thought (where books tend to be open), hermetically appeasing the viewer’s need for closure or catharsis even when they don’t try to.”
The Road is one of the most psychologically disturbing pieces of art I have ever encountered. Hands down. Within the first 20 pages, the reader understands that the world that these characters inhabit is in ruins. Everything is grey and terrible. The father has come to terms with the fact that he may have to use the last two bullets in his gun to kill his only son and then kill himself. They could become prey of the roving bands of Mad Max-esque gangs at any time. Basically, things suck. And they continue to suck for the entire book. There is no chance of a happy ending and these doesn’t seem to be a point for anyone to keep living. Sounds like great fodder for a film, doesn’t it?
But the film adaptation seems to be focused on the apocalypse first and foremost, which completely misses the point. Cormac McCarthy wanted to explore the father/son bond outside of the confines of a moral society. But it looks like the film makers wish more to focus on the Mortensen/Theron bond (Do I smell a chance for some dirty post-apocalypse sex?).
more from Videogum: “the trailer is one Linkin Park song away from being another post-Apocalyptic thrill(er)-ride.”
They even managed to throw in that Mortal Kombat “wyeaahhhh” sound effect in there.
I’m still willing to give the film the benefit of the doubt. Director and Dr.-Evil-look-alike-contest-winner, John Hillcoat, was the man behind 205’s totally-acceptable The Proposition.
The Road is nothing like a Western though, and it looks like this film has been focus-grouped to death. I’m surprised that the Man and the Son haven’t been given names in the film version. At this point, they might as well give the torch-wielding gang some kinky leather chaps and a John Hillcoat-lookalike leader. This is one Road I’d rather not go down.
