The Road (2009)

Directed by John Hilcoat (of the Proposition) and from the much-lauded novel by Cormac MaCarthy this dark dystopian future is amazing and bleak. Well, dystopian futures are supposed to be bleak I suppose, but this dark fucked future is almost meditative in its despair.

Here we have a nameless Father and Son walking through the rubble of America looking for fresh water, food and trying to head south to better climates as it is a perpetual cold fog. If it is a nuclear winter, it is never said. The catastrophe that has robbed mankind of its humanity (most of the survivors are cannibals) is never named and much scarier for it.

The Father tries to raise his Son to be strong and brave and to be one of the few good people left. But when they have to do anything to survive a severe paranoia sets in and the line between who is good and bad is forever obscured for the Father.

I absolutely loved this movie, expertly directed and acted (Viggo Mortensen in the lead with fantastic cameos by Robert Duval, Molly Parker and Micheal Smith -Omar from the Wire) with a fantastic score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. I cannot recommend this highly enough, however being in the right mood is key.

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