Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Touching but grim futuristic tale won't appeal to kids.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
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Where to Watch
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The Road
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 20 parent reviews
Parents say the film presents a deeply graphic and disturbing narrative filled with intense themes such as cannibalism and the collapse of society, resulting in a bleak portrayal of a father-son relationship in a post-apocalyptic world. While some viewers found moments of hope and emotional depth, many caution against allowing children or young teens to watch due to its harrowing content and graphic imagery.
- graphic content
- emotional depth
- not for kids
- bleak themes
- survival story
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Based on 15 kid reviews
What's the Story?
In the future, an unnamed disaster has ravaged Earth, wiping out most animal and plant life. Electricity is gone, food is scarce, and everything has turned cold and gray from falling ash. A man (Viggo Mortensen) and his 10-year-old son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) make their way along the dangerous road toward the coast in the hopes of finding something -- anything -- there. Along the way, they meet some dangerous cannibals -- as well as some good people -- and together they must nurture their fragile flame of hope.
Is It Any Good?
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.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the unnamed disaster that brought the world to this point. What would life be like after something like that? What could or couldn't you do anymore?
Why is the boy more hopeful and trustworthy than his father? What could the boy know or understand that his father doesn't?
What made the boy's mother commit suicide? Why did she give up hope when the man and the boy still had hope?
Movie Details
- In theaters : November 25, 2009
- On DVD or streaming : May 25, 2010
- Cast : Charlize Theron , Kodi Smit-McPhee , Viggo Mortensen
- Director : John Hillcoat
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Dimension
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 119 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some violence, disturbing images and language
- Last updated : September 14, 2022
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