The Road

One of the great novels of the decade, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, was recently adapted for film.  It's actually been in the can for a while but has been sitting on the shelf for various reasons.  When the project was announced I was immediately worried that Hollywood would hack it up into little pieces and sell it as some awful cousin to I Am Legend.  But after seeing that it was going to be directed by John Hillcoat, who brilliantly directed The Proposition (one of the best movies you should never see), I had a spark of hope.  This book, despite the darkness, the sadness, the unflinching portrayal of the putrid side of humanity, also increased my faith in the power of love.  It didn't hurt that I read it as a brand new father.  Then this weekend, the trailer came out, and I'm disappointed again.  It looks more like an action movie than the deliberately, steadily, and intensely, yea even unbearably heartbreaking, and quite often suspensefully rolling forward story that plays out in the book.  As the saying goes: "Movies.  Ruining the book since 1920."  

Actually.  I still have hope.  Many are saying this trailer is a hack job conjured by the production company to put tails in seats.  And Esquire is trying to put it in league with The Godfather. So...we'll see.

Thanks to Kirk for nonchalantly showing me the trailer, after my having religiously checked IMDB for months.