The Road...review

If "Jaws" when you break it down is really just an exaggerated fish tale that buddies would tell each other while drinking then I guess you could say that "The Road" is just a story about a father & son's camping trip that a kid would brag about to their friends. However like Jaws you simply cannot escape the tragedy that surrounds their stories. I did not read the book The Road before I saw the movie, even though I usually do because I am a voracious reader. When I heard that they were making a movie I decided for a change of pace to see it first. For a brief synopsis it is the story of a father & son trying to survive & make their way south after an Apocalypse. It is not stated in the book(to the best of my knowledge) or the movie what happened, or if it was natural or man-made. After seeing the movie, it could have been done by either or both.

This is a somewhat difficult movie to review for a couple of reasons. It is a very well acted, adapted, filmed, imagined, & directed movie. It is also very, very bleak (exposed and barren and often windswept, cold, raw, lacking in warmth, life, or kindliness : grim, not hopeful or encouraging, depressing outlook>, severely simple or austere) movie. I use the dictionaries definition because it really hits home on this one. This movie will be a particularly difficult movie to watch for the father's of sons. The story is of their attempt to survive in a world gone dead inhabited by few...& those few look for meat the only place they can find it (hint...there are not a whole lot of animals left). The lessons the father teaches his son can be brutal at times.

This brings us to the second reason it is tough to review. My father was an old school guy who liked to camp, hunt, & fish. He was an NRA instructor. While he did have his soft side, he had his tough hard side as well. This would have been a difficult movie for him to watch. And knowing the types of movies he liked, I wouldn't recommend it to him, yet I would have wanted to watch it with him (most likely at home via DVD...followed by a cigar & port to relax him). I do recommend seeing this movie to most, but if you only go to the movies purely to be entertained by comedy or special effects...this might not be for you. Otherwise, with all the problems we face in today's economy, unless you are dealing with some real life & death situations...this movie may just put in perspective that as difficult as you think you have it...you really don't. If it's grey & rainy tomorrow, the sun will shine the next day or day after that...& you will continue to make your way along your own road...