The Road to The Road

This movie was supposed to come out last year. Charlize Theron was singled out a lot in the trailers. The book is beloved. "No Country for Old Men" won an Oscar in 2008. Uh oh. All these things were working against this film.

Things working in it's favor: Michael K. Williams, John Hillcoat, Viggo, the book itself.

Who won?

I would say the best compliment I can give this movie is that it did the best it could with the source material. Never really reaching the level of emotion from the book, it did do a good job of capturing the bleak nature of the tale. I can't really say it was "enjoyable" in a conventional sense. But it is well crafted and does the best to put the page up on the screen.

The biggest issue was that the father tells me he would do anything to protect his son, but I didn't ever really connect and feel that. Which leaves the end of the movie not resonating. It's the opposite in the book. But having read the book may have soured me for what was on screen. I would be interested to talk to someone who didn't read the book until after and get their thoughts. But I also wouldn't wish anyone to see the movie first and then read the book. I feel they'd be robbed too.

Did you enjoy it?
Yes. Not as much as the book, but that is impossible.

Would you see it in theaters again?
Nope. I would read the book again, though.

Would you rent it?
Probably not. I would check the book out from the library, though.

Would you buy it?
I would totally buy the book.

Would you watch it if you saw it was on TV?

Yes, I would turn the captions on and read it.