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2929 Productions
Dimension Films
Not part of a collection.
In a moment, the world changed forever.
A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind and water. It is cold enough to crack stones and, when the snow falls, it is gray. Their destination is the warmer south, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there.
CinemaSerf
Feb 15, 2025 · via TMDB
Yikes, but this is bleak! Many years after some disaster has struck down American civilisation, we meet a man (Viggo Mortensen) and his curious young son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who are trying to make it from the wooded hinterland to the coast in the hope that things might be better, and hopefully warmer, there. At least the ocean ought to add a bit of blue to their remarkably dull surroundings. They do have guns, but only two bullets which he is saving for emergencies should they encounter any of the other survivors from this apocalypse who might just decide that either or both of them are fare game. There is plenty of water, but a distinct paucity of food and so this is a continuing struggle to feed themselves and to stay alive. The young lad has never known any other kind of life so rather stoically, initially at least, follows as instructed. Dad, on the other hand, has memories - and those of his wife (Charlize Theron) provide him with the occasional succour as he realises, as do we, that things are not looking great for this pair - or, indeed, for humanity in general. There’s an engaging dynamic here between the two travellers; the photography goes some way to creating the cold and barren environment through which they wander and the very nature of story ensures that we are not constantly awash with excess dialogue as their journey speaks for itself. There’s a touching, if brief, contribution from Robert Duvall that proves surprisingly effective as the pair come more to terms with their situation, too. It’s a slow burn, this film, but that’s a good thing as we find ourselves increasingly immersed in something that I felt inevitable, chilly and unpredictable. I haven’t read the book, but this uses it’s imagery to tell a poignant story and is well worth two hours that can’t be that far distant from the original text.
The Movie Mob
Dec 9, 2022 · via TMDB
**The Road paints a grim and genuine picture of the dangers and greed of a world surviving the collapse of society and hope.** The Road is a realistic and super depressing depiction of a post-apocalyptic world. Viggo Mortensen’s portrayal of an unyielding father doing whatever he can to keep his son alive and prepare him for survival is gripping and powerful. This movie made me want to hold my kids close, hug them tight, and thank the Lord we don’t live in that situation. Because of the gritty and gloomy atmosphere and subject matter of the film, it is not a movie I can say I enjoyed, but it was incredibly well done and well acted. The ending seemed pretty hopeful and easy compared to the rest of the film, which was disappointing and comforting as it felt unearned but also eased my concern for the characters' future. I will not revisit The Road, but I’m glad I have seen it.
Wuchak
Jun 20, 2021 · via TMDB
_**Grey, maudlin post-apocalyptic drama with some horrific thrills**_ After a mass extinction event, a man & his son (Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee) walk from western Pennsylvania to the Southeast coast trying to survive a life-or-death situation in a world without laws as people prey on each other. Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce and Molly Parker show up for small parts. Based on Cormac McCarthy’s final novel, "The Road" (2009) is similar to “Carriers,” released almost three months earlier. Unlike semi-goofy post-apocalyptic films like the original Mad Max trilogy, "The Road" and "Carriers" are deadly serious from beginning to end with no comic book nonsense. This works in their favor because both films give us a window into what life would be like after a worldwide crisis destroys conventional society. Each film explores one's reaction to such a world-ending disaster: Do we forsake all sense of morality in an attempt to survive – lie, steal, forsake and murder – or do we hold on to our moral compass, come what may? Is life worth living if you must become an immoral, wicked savage to survive? Isn't it better to live with dignity at all costs – fight with nobility and die with dignity when and if we must? Some denounce both flicks on the grounds that they’re too downbeat and depressing, but wouldn't a lawless world be a very dire situation? In other words, the downbeat vibe reflects the reality of the story. However, “Carriers” is the superior of the two by far. “The Road” is tediously one-dimensional and unrelentingly somber. Plus the dynamics of the father & son are boring with the annoying boy almost singlehandedly ruining the movie. They needed to find a girl or a woman to shake things up – anything to dispel the grey monotony. The film runs 1 hour, 51 minutes, and was shot mostly in western Pennsylvania & West Virginia (the towering bridge), plus Oregon and Spirit Lake near Mount St. Helens, Washington (the log-jammed lake). GRADE: C+
John Chard
Oct 11, 2019 · via TMDB
The clocks stopped at 1:17 The Road is directed by John Hillcoat (The Proposition) and written by Joe Penhall (Enduring Love). Based on the 2006 novel of the same name by American author Cormac McCarthy (No Country For Old Men), the film stars Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee as a father and his son trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. How do you sell such a sombre piece to the film loving public? I'm not sure I personally can, such is the whirly like emotions dominating my thoughts. OK, it's a grim and bleak film, of that there's no doubt. Director Hillcoat is not out to make a thrilling end of the world actioner. Staying faithful to McCarthy's novel, this is now a world where animal & plant life is practically extinct, where this particular part of America is lawless and populated by cannibal types. Humanity has long since left the arena. How we arrived at such desolation is not clear - intentionally so. We are now just witnessing the after effects of something world changing, the fall out personally involving us as we hit the road with man & boy. Hillcoat and his cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe have painted a clinically dead world from which to tell the story. Scorched soil is home to threadbare trees, the skyline punctured by the wreckage of man's progress passed, storms come and go as if to taunt the characters. It's a living hell that begs the question on why would anyone want to survive in it? So here's the thing that finally hit me like a sledgehammer some five days after watching the film, it's not just the bleakness of the apocalypse that gnaws away at you, it's also the expertly portrayed study of parenting. So emotively played by Mortensen, with Smit-McPhee essaying incredible vulnerability, it sinks the heart the longer the movie goes on. All of which is leading up to the ending, where we get something absorbing, revealing and utterly smart. Tough viewing for sure, but compelling and thought provoking throughout. 8/10
Andres Gomez
Mar 6, 2014 · via TMDB
Viggo Mortensen and Smit-McPhee deliver great performances but it doesn't really hook you up.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Viggo Mortensen
Father
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Boy
Charlize Theron
Mother
Robert Duvall
Old Man - Eli
Guy Pearce
Veteran
Molly Parker
Friendly Woman
Michael Kenneth Williams
The Thief
Garret Dillahunt
Gang Member
Bob Jennings
Bearded Man
Buddy Sosthand
Archer
Agnes Herrmann
Archer's Woman
Jack Erdie
Bearded Man #2
Wilson Moore
Boy running from cannibals
Mark Tierno
Baby Eater
John W. Iwanonkiw
Additional Set Dresser
Eric Alan Edwards
Camera Operator
Javier Aguirresarobe
Director of Photography
Dan Kneece
Steadicam Operator
Anne Bergstedt Jordanova
Stand In
Gretchen Treser
Stand In
Jeremy Fry
Stunts
Robert Stromberg
Visual Effects Design Consultant
John Hillcoat
Director
James Plannette
Gaffer
Barbara Harris
ADR Voice Casting
Francine Maisler
Casting
Mark Cuban
Executive Producer
Nick Wechsler
Producer
Steve Schwartz
Producer
Goro Koyama
Foley Artist
Nick Cave
Original Music Composer
Warren Ellis
Original Music Composer
Leslie Shatz
Sound Designer
Cormac McCarthy
Novel
Joe Penhall
Screenplay
Rien de Nouveau sous le Soleil
The Plant Boy
Bread and Salt
Lady Against the Odds
The Shawshank Redemption
Skin Flick
The Godfather
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Nylon Moon
Forrest Gump
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Once Upon a Time in America
The Silence of the Lambs
Apocalypse Now
Paths of Glory
The Prestige
Metropolis
Das Boot
Stalker
The Avengers
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Wages of Fear
Za ranních červánků
My Nights Glow Yellow
North by Northwest
Love, Simon
Blade Runner
Freedom Writers
Warriors of the Wind
Rebecca
The Miracle Worker
The Pursuit of Happyness
Finding Nemo
All Quiet on the Western Front
Stand by Me
A Strange Path
Rain Man
Mystic River
Cool Hand Luke
Viridiana
The Hustler
Primal Fear
Fried Green Tomatoes
The Lines That Define Me
Billy Elliot
Doctor Zhivago
The Dirty Dozen
Manon of the Spring
Phases of the Moon
The Fifth Element
Jules and Jim
The Bad Guys
The Name of the Rose
East of Eden
Eyes Wide Shut
Letters from Iwo Jima
Miramar
Wer stirbt schon gerne unter Palmen
The Clutch of Power
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The Devil Wears Prada
The Motorcycle Diaries
Legends of the Fall
Sense and Sensibility
Dean Spanley
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Bridge to Terabithia
Adaptation.
Bhairava Dweepam
In the Best of Families: Marriage, Pride & Madness
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
25th Hour
The Blue Angel
Stardust
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
Midaq Alley
(Ab)normal Desire
Bicentennial Man
Dolores Claiborne
The City of Lost Children
Shoot the Piano Player
Watership Down
Alice in Wonderland
The Proposal
The Outsiders
Straw Dogs
The Nun's Night
Field of Dreams
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
Desert Hearts
The Story of the Weeping Camel
Notes on a Scandal
Little Children
The Bear
Animal Farm
Sweet Rain: Accuracy of Death
Flywheel
Seabiscuit
Cars
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Let Me Eat Your Pancreas
The Darkest Minds
Contempt
Ronia: The Robber's Daughter
Chocolat
La Chinoise
9
Oliver!
Silent Barricade
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May Fairy Tale
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Věra Lukášová
Poseidon Legacy
Naked Lunch
Revolutionary Road
Capote
24 Hour Party People
The Time Traveler's Wife
Dogma
The Story of Adèle H.
The Glass Cell
Evil Under the Sun
Lost on a Mountain in Maine
Trapezium
In the Name of the Law
Transformers
Smallfoot
Oliver Twist
The Tiger Gang
Death Sentence
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Northanger Abbey
It's the Heart That Dies Last
Westworld
Tetro
The Silent Ocean
The Other Boleyn Girl
Jakob the Liar
Sabotage
A Prayer Before Dawn
Absolute Power
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Body of Lies
The Lord of the Rings
The Secret of Moonacre
The Bricklayers
Holy Days
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Emma
War of the Worlds
Bolt
Le Pion
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
Last Exit to Brooklyn
The Grifters
Foma Gordeyev
Over the Top
The Razor's Edge
The Seekers
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Executive Decision
The Sum of All Fears
How to Blow Up a Pipeline
Tragic Vacation
Tell Me Softly
Gone with the Woman
Sleepless
Temno
The Black Shield of Falworth
In Her Shoes
Unknown Origins
10 Items or Less
Force 10 from Navarone
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny
Schirkoa
The Rules of Attraction
Code 46
Time of the Wolf
Against All
Fallen Angels Paradise
Smile at Last
Jingle All the Way
Justice League
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Topaz
Flight of the Phoenix
Apostasy
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Nines
Death to Smoochy
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Dita Saxová
Father's Affair
Under The Greenwood Tree
Party Monster
Two Queens and One Consort
Milka: A Film About Taboos
The Rapture
Varg Veum - Buried Dogs
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot
Freejack
To Love Someone
Fifteen Year Old Captain
Snakes on a Plane
Land of the Lost
The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising
The Turn of the Screw
Narcosis
Did You Hear About the Morgans?
Peut-être
Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist
Dark Journey
As I Lay Dying
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies
No Other Love
Šach mat
Jarrapellejos
Child of God
Double Dragon
No Thank You
The Horse That Cried
Šílený kankán
Father Sergius
Assassination
Berna's Tail
The Nation
Butterfly in the Typewriter
The Lifeboat
Children of Blood and Bone
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue
Human Blood Is Thicker than Water
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Across the Rails
A Part of Me
Media Mushrooms
The Female Side Effect
Plukovník Chabert
Cold Enough for Snow
Mañana Sí
In the Flesh
Twice
The Last Harvest
The Comedy Hour
Green Bay
Hunting Party
Dear Father
Blade Runner
Mad Max: Fury Road
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
I Am Legend
Greenland
Fahrenheit 451
Bastard Out of Carolina
Fluke
The Lost Bus
Wendy and Lucy
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
The Dog Stars
The Quiet Earth
The Hunter
The Thing with Feathers
Light of My Life
Slaughterhouse-Five
1984
Timescape
These Final Hours
Dear Zoe
Leave the World Behind
The Matrix Resurrections
The Postman
Byzantium
Panic in Year Zero!
Vesper
End of Sentence
The Survivalist
Island in the Sky
Gold
Being Flynn
After the Dark
The 5th Wave
Road to Paloma
Hellion
Right at Your Door
Awake
Into the Forest
The End We Start From
Foe
Edge of Winter
Oct 8, 2009
Mill Valley Film Festival
Nov 25, 2009
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The Reckoning
2018
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2015
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Battle your watched movies head-to-head
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Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
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1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
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1981 · 11 wins
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