Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. A gruff old survivor of the apocalypse wanders desolate highways and abandoned streets, their sharp eyes trying to spot any resources or sudden threats. They are both predator and prey, but their guarded independence is compromised by a young child under their protection, someone who grew up in the aftermath of a terrible event and has lots to learn about the world’s evils. The more innocent protectee gives the older shepherd a burning sense of purpose, driving them towards a personal, spiritual cleansing even as the world around them remains sullied and scorched.
This is the story of The Road, both the 2006 Cormac McCarthy novel and John Hillcoat’s film adaptation, although the potency of its brutal meditation on surviving catastrophe lives on in the DNA of so many post-apocalyptic movies. In the film, which debuted 15 years ago, our perspective sticks unflinchingly close to a Man (Viggo Mortensen) and his Boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they trudge south on a vast, empty road toward the coast. The Man’s inner thoughts tell us everything about their journey, from his backstory – his wife (Charlize Theron) ended her life to avoid a more grisly demise on the road – to how he understands his duty.
