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The Road (I) (2009)

R  |   |  Adventure, Drama  |  18 December 2009 (USA)
7.3
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Ratings: 7.3/10 from 165,595 users   Metascore: 64/100
Reviews: 491 user | 349 critic | 33 from Metacritic.com

In a dangerous post-apocalyptic world, an ailing father defends his son as they slowly travel to the sea.

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(novel), (screenplay)
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Title: The Road (2009)

The Road (2009) on IMDb 7.3/10

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Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins & 29 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Man
...
Boy
...
...
...
Motherly Woman
...
...
Gang Member
...
...
Bearded Man
Agnes Herrmann ...
Archer's Woman
...
Archer
...
Bearded Face
...
Bearded Man #2
David August Lindauer ...
Man On Mattress
...
Well Fed Woman
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Storyline

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind and water. It is cold enough to crack stones, and, when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the warmer south, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing: just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless cannibalistic bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a rusting shopping cart of scavenged food--and each other. Written by Sean Pollock

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

In a moment the world changed forever.

Genres:

Adventure | Drama

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence, disturbing images and language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

18 December 2009 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

La carretera  »

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,502,231 (USA) (27 November 2009)

Gross:

$56,692 (USA) (11 May 2012)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

| |

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

To live the role, Viggo Mortensen would sleep in his clothes and deliberately starve himself. At one point he was thrown out of a shop in Pittsburgh because they thought he was a homeless man. See more »

Goofs

The "current" portion of the movie takes place approximately 7-8 years after the "disaster" happened that caused all plant life to die off. If all plant life had died off, there would be no dry grass shooting from the soil, nor dead grass lying on the ground especially with all the weather turmoil happening around. All leaves and dried grass would have decomposed in that amount of time. Furthermore, trees would not have dried leaves hanging from the branches. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Wife: What's happening? Why are you taking a bath?
The Man: I'm not.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Over the end credits, we hear the sounds of children playing. What the world must have been like in happier times. See more »

Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: Let's Go Fly a Coot (2015) See more »

Soundtracks

Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord No. 3 in E Major: Adagio Ma Non Tanto
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach (as J.S. Bach)
Arranged by Ryan Franks
Performed by Ryan Franks & Harry Scorzo
Courtesy of Crucial Music Corporation
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Outstanding Adaptation
25 November 2009 | by (Philadelphia) – See all my reviews

I read Cormac McCarthy's novel a few years ago & figured it would be made into a movie (this was when "No Country for Old Men" was playing) but I wondered how they could make this extremely grim tale into something that people would want to see.

This film was every bit as grim as the novel and it seemed to be a faithful adaptation of it. The characters seemed more believable in the film than in the novel. This is probably due to the medium but Viggio Mortenson did a fabulous job as the Protagonist (the unnamed father) and his son was also great. They both were tremendous and brought a lot of character development and engagement to an otherwise totally bleak story.

I loved Robert Duvall's turn as the grizzled survivor. It was a supporting role sure to win an Oscar nomination. I think this will win more than its share of Oscar nominations, for Viggio at the very least.

Great film, go check it out.


154 of 226 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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If you didnt cry at all while watching this....you may not have a heart riddlerfiddler
How do you think "it happened"? Samos74
Snowpiercer fared much better with professional critics HerExcellency
What's with all the missing thumbs? Sidewindr
Why leave the underground shelter? Curtis_C_Flush
Seemed to be raining a lot...so why such dirty air and fires Doug-169
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