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Parents' Guide to

The Road

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Touching but grim futuristic tale won't appeal to kids.

Movie R 2009 119 minutes
The Road Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 15+

Based on 19 parent reviews

age 15+
age 12+

Sad but emotional

It does have really harsh scenes but a mature child who understands this is a dystopian world resulting from a major catastrophe will understand why everything is so bleak.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (19 ):
Kids say (16 ):

The Road is a well-made movie and a powerful story. But despite the characters' persistent hope, the relentlessly grim material -- including the constant, cold, gray visuals -- can be overwhelming, somewhat stalling the drama's forward momentum. Indeed, it's hard to argue that Hillcoat's intense visual presentation adds anything to or improves upon McCarthy's spare prose. Overall though, The Road is effective -- and interesting as a comparison for those who loved the book.

Australian director John Hillcoat (The Proposition) has brought the 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men) to the screen faithfully, with only a few dramatic additions for the actors' benefit, as well as at least one action-oriented sequence. The emotional core of the movie is the same as the book: the moving relationship between the man and his son and the way they rely on each other for hope and survival.

Movie Details

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