tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post180541226423684719..comments2024-03-29T04:57:26.162-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: CULT MOVIE REVIEW: The Road (2009)John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-86546062299261359052010-07-08T16:23:59.007-04:002010-07-08T16:23:59.007-04:00A great review, Mr Muir. A few comments:
Robert D...A great review, Mr Muir. A few comments:<br /><br />Robert Duvall: an absolutely stunning performance. Incidentally, the scene where he refers to his dead son was completely improvised by Duvall. according to the director's commentary on the DVD, the crew broke into spontaneous applause after the scene was finished.<br /><br /><br />Oscar overlook: How the academy failed to recognize this shattering film is beyond me. I counted at least four oscar worthy elements:<br /><br />Best supporting actor: Duvall<br /><br />Best Actor: Viggo Mortenson. He makes his character's concern for his son palpable.<br /><br />Best Director:John Hillcoat<br /><br />Best adapted screenplay:Joe Penhall<br /><br />The mother's suicide: I saw her suicide as less a matter of conformity than as an expression of rationality. Objectively considered, suicide is the most reasonable course of action in the face of such unrelenting horror (Martin Amis once commented that, in the face of an all out nuclear war, his response would be to kill himself and his family). Remember, she initially proposed that the father kill both their son and her. One could make a good argument that the father's desire to go on, however moving and laudable, is irrational, a purely emotional response.<br /><br />Horror: The scene in the basement, with its human cattle, is one of the most disturbing scenes in recent cinema, made all the more effective by the restrained presentation.syonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04764206921202174601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-77673485205079637632010-07-08T09:42:21.835-04:002010-07-08T09:42:21.835-04:00Will: I will check out your review! I guess I lik...Will: I will check out your review! I guess I liked the movie more than you did...but was it because the commercials led you to expect Thunderdome?! :) <br /><br />Filmfather: See it...and weep. That's what I did. No, but seriously, I think you do owe it to yourself to watch the film. It's very, very powerful.<br /><br />Thanks for the comments!<br /><br />best,<br />JohnJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-31869744478773039602010-07-08T09:27:00.482-04:002010-07-08T09:27:00.482-04:00I'm curled up in a fetal position on the floor...I'm curled up in a fetal position on the floor just from reading your description of this film...I don't know if I could handle actually watching it.<br /><br />Still, as a father of two boys, maybe I owe it to myself to check it out.FilmFatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16572370403623288465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-80661338082777496242010-07-07T20:32:05.368-04:002010-07-07T20:32:05.368-04:00I was not terribly impressed with the book or the ...I was not terribly impressed with the book or the movie. Here's my review (sorry, I'm being a link whore): http://secureimmaturity.com/?p=4116<br /><br />Great review Johnny Boy. I liked that the movie didn't spell everything out for you. . .it made the viewer take from it what it will. I totally agree with you about being there for your son and, in my case, my daughter. This movie, as flawed as I thought it was, made me really hold my daughter a little tighter.<br /><br />The marketing was shameful: they made this film look like BEYOND THUNDERDOME! I read the book first, thankfully, but I feel, oddly, that the movie is better.Willhttp://secureimmaturity.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-80744934065368484992010-07-07T18:47:44.123-04:002010-07-07T18:47:44.123-04:00Kevin: That does sound grim. I don't know tha...Kevin: That does sound grim. I don't know that I would want those images circulating in my head everyday...<br /><br />Le0pard13: Thank you for a truly beautiful comment. I really enjoyed reading it, and you're right, we all suffer from that disease known as mortality. It's horrible, but it's the way of nature that none of us will live through our childrens' lives. They will go on without us, and, of course, they will be fine. But it's sad we can't be there see it. The thought of someday not being there for Joel is something that gives me nightmares (and The Road really played that note...).<br /><br />I am glad to hear that we share in common strong, smart, caring women as spouses. Kathryn is amazing, and I cherish her for her love, compassion, honesty (occasionally brutal honesty...) and other fine qualities. There's nothing as great in this world as having your wife as your best friend!<br /><br />Thank you,<br />JohnJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-27175562890957906352010-07-07T12:55:58.837-04:002010-07-07T12:55:58.837-04:00That was one hell of a great and heartfelt review,...That was one hell of a great and heartfelt review, John. I've known what the book and film adaptation have to tell, and I've held off seeing it for just that reason. Perhaps, it's the parent in me that keeps that future heartbreak at bay, bottled in a way, and so it prevents me watching it portrayed in stark terms on the screen, at this time (even though I strive to keep to that "<i>most important task</i>" everyday with my own children). You've crystalized "<i>intimately the Father's existential dilemma</i>" in this review, my friend.<br /><br />It's interesting that the author/screenwriter used (metaphorically?) a terminal illness as the story catalyst for the father's dilemma. Whether we speak of it or not, our mortality is everyone's terminal malady, isn't it? And as a father, it seems that that fact is never more well-focused than the day you become a parent (doesn't matter if it's your first or umpteenth). One day, I know I'll watch this film. I'll hope I have the answers to the questions it will bring me. Thanks very, very much for this, John.<br /><br />p.s., we seem to have another thing in common, my friend. We're married to strong, smart, and caring women. Take care.le0pard13https://www.blogger.com/profile/09421175808461787862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-74000922108861228962010-07-07T10:44:49.248-04:002010-07-07T10:44:49.248-04:00I don't have a kid, but what did hit me about ...I don't have a kid, but what did hit me about this film is that large sections of it were filmed in Western PA, esp. on parts of the "old" Pennsylvania turnpike. To have a vision of the after-apocalypse be the sorts of buildings and roads that you see everyday is pretty grim!Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14027317042801637354noreply@blogger.com