Viggo Mortensen in “The Road”

It’s a new kind of story, for sure.  “The Road” may not be easy to watch, but it’s unique.  It’s the story of a father and son traversing a bleak landscape after an unnamed catastrophe has destroyed almost all life on the planet.  The star, Viggo Mortensen, definitely gives a striking performance as the desperate father, protecting his son from starvation, cannibals (yep, cannibals!) and, the most feared enemy, despair.  It’s existential to an overwhelming degree.  One scene of starving, naked people locked in a cannibal’s basement is particularly horrifying.

The driving question throughout the film is: why choose to live if life is so desperate?  And why choose to be “one of the good guys?”  The brief moment of levity essentially consists of finally finding a storage room full of food (with some subtle product placement including Coca-Cola, Vitamin Water and Cheetos).

Viggo Mortensen has had supporting roles in movies from Witness (his first film role) and G.I. Jane.  He’s most famous for his role in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy as Aragorn.  He was the honored actor at the Telluride Film Festival this year.  His tribute celebrated his many skills and colorful biography; he grew up in Argentina, Denmark and New York and is an accomplished artist, musician, photographer, horseman, swordsman and actor.

Jared Parmenter wrote a really thorough, positive review.  I wasn’t so thrilled with the film.  Besides being difficult to watch, the ending seemed too happy and hopeful for such a bleak story. The film is subtly politicized by supposedly incorporating footage from abandoned highways in Pennsylvania, smoke from 9/11 and some of the empty shopping centers in Katrina-ravaged New Orleans.

Because the Weinstein Company chose to unveil this film at Telluride, I won’t be surprised if they’re gunning for awards season after the festival circuit.