The Road is an effective apocalyptic drama with some flaws which I'll get into later from director John Hillcoat whose admirable in making this movie thats for the most part with a few exceptions CGI free. In the film everything is gray, destroyed, and decaying because of an unknown global cataclysm that changed the face of the world forever. Viggo Mortensen turns in a solid performance as The Man who goes on the road with his son trying desperately to survive by any means necessary. Mortensen brings a lot to his role and gives audiences a man who is willing to do anything even kill to protect his son. Kodi Smit-McPhee is equally impressive as The Son who must learn how to live in a world where everyday is a struggle to survive. I haven't seen him in anything prior to this but Kodi turns in a good performance none the less. Smit-McPhee and Mortensen also have great chemistry with each other making their father/son relationship very believable on the screen. Which I'm sure to the filmmakers was very important because most of their scenes are together. Well done. Charlize Theron has what amounts to a few extended appearances in flashbacks but she does what her role requires continuing to prove her talent as an actress. Robert DuVuall, Guy Pearce, Michael K. Williams, and Garret Dillahunt are effective in their roles that border on cameos but they aren't really developed because they're only on screen for a few minutes or less. I was actually kind of surprised at how little they were in the movie. Dillahunt shows up early on as a survivor only to be written out as quickly as he appeared. Duvuall makes an appearance in the second half as an old man who has dinner with the man and his son while on their journey south. Michael K. Smith arrives late in the second half as a crazed loner with a knife and he (like Duvuall, Pearce, and Theron) does what his role requires. Guy Pearce's role is like his part in The Hurt Locker except it's the exact opposite. He arrives very late into the third act instead of the beginning like The Hurt Locker and despite having little screen time Pearce still gives a good performance. The rest of the cast including the people who turned to cannibalism are decent in their small roles even with little to no dialog because most of the focus is on Mortensen and Smit-McPhee. The locations they chose for the movie were perfect because it really did look like the end of the world. The people involved in making this film did a great job of bringing this apocalyptic world to life. I thought choosing atmosphere and scenery over CGI was a wise choice because it made the situation the characters were in very real. There wasn't too much I didn't like about The Road. A slow pace at times and characters underused( Duvuall and Pearce to name a few) weighed the movie down a bit but the good outweighed the bad. So overall The Road despite having some flaws is a decent apocalyptic drama about the bond between a father and his son who try to survive in a desolate wasteland. If you're a big fan of the genre, than chances are you'll enjoy this movie. The Road has a compelling story, drama, and solid performances by the cast (Mortensen and Smit-McPhee) who make this depressing but well made film worth the time to watch.
