The Road (2009)
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A father and his son struggle to survive in a desolate, post-apocalyptic wasteland.
The story
Following an unspecified catastrophe that caused an extinction event, a man and his young son travel along a road toward the coast in search of safety. They must navigate a wasteland where all plant and animal life has perished, scavenging for supplies while evading roaming cannibalistic gangs. The journey is a desperate struggle for survival in a world where resources are scarce and danger is constant.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After a global catastrophe, a man and his son travel toward the coast to find safety. The man's wife left him years ago after a desperate conflict over their remaining ammunition. In the present, they encounter various dangers, including a gang of cannibals and a desperate old man named Ely. They find a stash of supplies in an underground shelter but must flee when they hear others nearby. Along their journey, they witness the brutal reality of the wasteland, including a mob murdering a mother and child. Near the coast, the man's supplies are stolen, and he later sustains a leg wound from an arrow. In the end, the man dies from his injuries, and the boy is taken in by a family of 'good guys' who had been following them.
- First release year
- 2009
- Runtime (minutes)
- 111
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Hillcoat
- Writers
- Joe Penhall · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Viggo Mortensen · Man; Kodi Smit-McPhee · Boy; Charlize Theron · Woman, the man's wife; Robert Duvall · Ely the Old Man; Guy Pearce · Veteran, a father wandering with his family; Molly Parker · Motherly Woman, the Veteran's wife; Garret Dillahunt · Gang Member
- Genres
- survival; drama; science fiction
- Themes
- survival; father-son relationship
- Tone and mood
- bleak; haunting
- Premise and plot tags
- post-apocalyptic; survival; cannibalism
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2006 novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy
- Content notes
- cannibalism
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics, particularly praising the performances of Mortensen and Smit-McPhee.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 74% · scale: percentage · review count: 217; Metacritic · score: 64 · scale: 100 · review count: 33
- Awards and nominations
- BAFTA · Best Cinematography · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was shot in real locations to avoid the 'CGI world'.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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