I believe that 2010 will bring many delights in cinema, as presented in previous posts. The first of the films i have wanted to see was excellent proof on this outlook.
From the first trailer, to the author, Cormac McCarthey of “No Country For Old Men” fame, the star, Viggo Mortensen (who has shone in the past few years not only in The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, but in two excellent films by the GODLY David Cronenberg, 2005’s A History Of Violence and 2007’s Eastern Promises) and to the director, John Hillcoat (who directed the raw and thrilling The Proposition), i had nothing but high hopes for this film. In the end, i was given pure quality cinema.
I see this film without having read the McCarthey novel, thus my expectations are fair game. The films premise is simplicity itself, a man (Mortensen) and his boy (the young Australian Kodi Smit-McPhee) travel across an apocalypic American landscape, battling the elements and raving cannibals in order to survive. With this premise, it could have fallen into cliched Hollywood-ized trash (see Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend brutally raped in 2007’s Will Smith vehicle), but to my joy, it distances itself creating a slow-burning, disturbingly bleak yet beautiful tale of father and son.
It shows a great maturity in director Hillcoat for taking this route, sticking to his guns, not letting the grubby hands of producers hinder the beauty of this experience with an over-exposure explosions and chases (fun fact - the Weinsteins were worried audiences would not see the film due to its less action-orientated structure, thus inserted a clip of news footage showing the world being destroyed).
The film firmly puts the protagonists in the foreground, making it a very intimate human experience, thus pushing the details of apocalypse into the background, remaining unexplained and only hinted by the clever use of the light of flames outside curtined windows. The father and the boy become almost observers to the shocking events of the apocalypse, and thus, as viewers we become the same. We are presented with shocking visions such as walls of fire, passing cannibals as the protagonists hide in the trees, cities of dust.
The performances are excellent. Charlize Theron’s small but effective wife is a powerful force behind the film, always affecting the protagnists, even if it is not spoken. As we watch her, told through flashbacks, we can see the toll of the apocalypse, her very breakdown and eventual fate which proves amazingly chilling and sad. It is great to see small cameos from both Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce, adding engaging elements to the piece.
The film however belongs to Mortensen and Smit-McPhee with Mortensen giving a subtle, soft-spoken yet powerful performance as an everloving father whose job is to care for his son. This coupled with his look, which always says much more than words ever could, his silent grave gazes, his thin body, his dirty ragged clothes, its just fantastic stuff.
Newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee instills these qualities also in his portrayal of the boy, also bringing an natural childlike naivity. He is believable and layered in his performance, making him a young talent to look out for.
The cinematography is outstanding employing a monocromatic colour palette effectively conveying the great bleakness and the effects are used to great effect, making a believable world on a budget of 20 million (now thats what i call effective use of money). These visions also aided effectively with a sombre score from Nick Cave, accentuating the atmosphere.
In all it’s a great morality tale, a great coming of age tale, a great father and son story. It is at many times shocking, such as the encounter with the black drifter and the seemingly abandoned house, it is also touching, as most scenes are with the father and the boy. It’s not completely depressing, but it is quite close. It is more beautifully depressing cinema, one which i shall visit again.
4/5
