Author: Alton Williams

The Road ****

A few weeks ago, with the release of post apocalyptic action thriller The Book of Eli I complained about how I had not been able to see The Road, the post apocalyptic film that had been released in cinemas just a week earlier, due to the absence of any cinemas anywhere near me actually showing it. Well, its three weeks late, but finally we have it here. I noted before how The Book of Eli is a more generic action thriller type film, tending to put the focus more on action than on characters and story (although the latter did indeed have a significant role as well). In some ways, The Road is the natural opposite to that film. While it is still set in a bleak post apocalyptic world, the film – based on the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy, whose novel No Country For Old Men was adapted into an Oscar winning film by the Coen Brothers – is much more focused on characters than it is on action and consequently the film has received a much more positive response from film critics, not to mention getting significant awards buzz, even if the box office performance has been poor at best (this could be attributed to a lack of cinemas actually showing it though). Pre-release hype may not have been huge but it has suggested a film that impresses so, with its focus on emotion rather than action, does The Road deliver as promised, or is little more than an interesting companion piece to The Book of Eli?

The world has become a post apocalyptic wasteland. A father (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smitt-McPhee) are struggling across the barren, dystopian landscape, heading towards the coast in the hope of escaping the increasing cold of the seemingly endless and unrelenting winter. There’s very little life left, less food and the only weapon they have to protect themselves is a pistol with two bullets. At night, the man dreams of his wife (Charlize Theron), who killed herself before their journey began. Each morning, he coughs up blood as a mystery illness begins to take hold. As they continue towards the sea, the father must continue to protect his son against exposure, starvation and terrifying, murderous gangs – sustained only by the blind hope that they’ll find a better life at the end of their journey.

Comparisons between The Road and The Book of Eli are inevitable (there’s even a character called Eli in The Road – the only named character in the film) so I will get them out of the way first. The Book of Eli could easily be described as a case of style over substance. With The Road we have the precise opposite, more a case of substance over style. The film lacks the visual panache and (understandably due to a much lower budget) the epic scale of Eli – although the post apocalyptic word depicted still, on occasion, manages to impress, also seeming more realistic at times – but makes up for this with its richly developed central characters, who are the constant focus throughout. First and foremost this is a character piece, a simple tale of a father and son desperately trying to survive in a dying world, and in this regard the film is a rousing success. Not only is the film moving, but it will bring you to tears at points, and this emotion is the heart of the film, present in the writing, the direction and, perhaps most importantly, the acting. Driven by pure emotion, the performances of Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smitt-McPhee are absolutely superb and truly heartbreaking. The father-son dynamic completely convinces and their suffering is both believable and draws our sympathies. When they get their few good breaks we genuinely feel happy along with them. They are the heart and soul of the film and focus never moves away from them for a moment. This film is not about the apocalypse – in fact the actual ‘event’ is never shown or explained – nor is it about the post apocalypse – we only see brief glimpses of anything other than forest or shoreline – it is about these two people and their struggle to simply survive. This is where the film gets its edge. The rest of the cast also impress, although Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall (as the aforementioned Eli) and Guy Pearce only get very limited screen time. For all the heart and emotion of the film’s protagonists, however, it should be noted that, while this film may be moving, it is not very uplifting. Hopelessly depressing for the most of the running time, it is so bleak that even Eli seems like a feel good movie by comparison. So, while The Road is indeed a very well made film and a very moving one, be warned that it is not a film to see if you are looking for entertainment or escapism, only if you want some serious food for thought.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)

Edge of Darkness **½

Much like last year’s State of Play, Edge of Darkness is a thriller that finds its inspirations in a British made television drama, albeit a much older one. In its day, the original Edge of Darkness was considered to be a groundbreaking piece of television, receiving rave reviews, a great response from viewers several wins and nominations at the BAFTA television awards. Given the impact the film had it is little wonder that the decision was made to adapt it into a Hollywood film, although the fact that it has taken so long to materialise has raised some serious doubts, the film having had several false starts over the years, with Robert De Niro once being cast to play one of the characters before leaving due to creative differences. The role he was to play has now gone to Ray Winstone and the leading role had gone to Mel Gibson, in his first leading role since 2002’s Signs. Gibson has been the source of much controversy in the years he has been absent from the screen, both for his self directed films The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto and for a number of scandals in his personal life. Here, he hopes to make a big comeback and, on paper at least, it appears that this film may well be just the film to do that, the person behind the camera on Edge of Darkness being none other than Martin Campbell, the man who directed the original TV drama upon which the film is based, as well as the fantastic Casino Royale and Goldeneye. With its director and cast, the film certainly has some quite impressive credentials, but was innovative in 1985 still seem so today and does the film manage to be more than just an average thriller?

Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) is a veteran homicide detective in the Boston Police Department. As they are walking out the front door of his house, his 24-year old daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) is blown away by a shotgun blast. Everyone assumes that Thomas, who was standing next to her, was the killer’s intended target. However, Thomas begins to suspect that Emma was the real target. Driven by heartache and blame, Thomas initiates his own private investigation to uncover Emma’s secret life and the reason for her murder. His investigation leads him down the path of corporate and government cover-ups, which resulted in his daughter’s elimination. Thomas receives some help from a government operative, Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), who has been sent in to clean-up the situation. Thomas Craven’s search for the truth brings him closer to his daughter and his own deliverance.

Edge of Darkness has all the elements that could make up a great thriller yet so-so writing means that far from living up to its promise and to the 1985 mini series that inspired it, it just ends up being another average Hollywood thriller with little to distinguish it from the many other similarly themed films that have been put out over the years. Much of the problem can in fact be attributed to the film’s central themes – simply, what was groundbreaking in 1985 is merely generic now. On top of this, the story is one that may have worked well as a TV series but as a film is sorely lacking. Perhaps there was too much story to effectively condense into one film. Whereas the mini series had a running time of six hours, this film is only two, meaning that many aspects of the original storyline have been cut and this is very noticeable in the film. Some scenes seem rather rushed and consequently lack the resonance they should have, particularly the pivotal scene of in which Emma is murdered, which fails to create the necessary dramatic impact. The plot is also too convoluted at times and culminates in a conclusion that fails to be wholly satisfying and ends with a pointless final scene that only seems present to end the film on a happy note. The faults don’t end there either, as certain revelations come far too early in the story, robbing the film of much needed tension later on. In other areas, however, the film does deliver on a higher level. Martin Campbell’s direction is solid and despite the many problems with the script he does manage to get some tension out of it and deliver a thriller that is still pretty watchable. The acting too is pretty good, with Mel Gibson being suitably intense and emotional, Ray Winstone doing his usual tough guy thing and Danny Huston doing the corporate boss part quite well. It’s just a shame that the story isn’t better as there is definite potential her but sadly the film is just too disjointed to really deliver. So, Edge of Darkness is watchable but lacks the edge that would make it great.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)