My Review: The Road (8/10)

"I told the boy when you dream about bad things happening, it means you're still fighting and you're still alive."

When trying to come up with one adjective to describe The Road there is no better word than gritty. The Road isn't your usual entertaining post-apocalyptic film, it is much darker and realistic. It's not an easy watch because the tone of the film is very depressing. There are some moments of hope where the main characters find some peace, but it is only temporary as their desperation begins creeping in once they are confronted with their reality. It's a film that will haunt you, but I can't think of another post-apocalyptic film that feels so real and authentic. There are still some survivors left in the midst of all the devastation, but their humanity is gone. Even the main character has lost most of his humanity and capacity for compassion; it's only through his boy that he continues to fight and the few acts of mercy he shows are because of the boy. The two lead performances are what ultimately hold this film together, but the cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe also helped set the tone for this dark and gritty film. The grey and empty landscapes are gorgeously shot. Director, John Hillcoat (Lawless), has made a depressive but authentic futuristic film, and his greatest achievement was staying true to Cormac McCarthy's novel. 

This is the third film adapted from McCarthy's novels that I've had the privilege to experience and despite the fact that they've been directed by different people I've still enjoyed all of them. They all seem to have a gritty tone. In this film we follow a father (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they walk across the desolated America heading to a warmer climate in the south. Along the way they face hunger, cold weather, and a few surviving lawless cannibals. Humanity has lost all hope and the few survivors have abandoned their morals in order to survive. The father constantly reminds his son that they are the good guys and that he must learn how to survive in this desolated land. We get some flashbacks of the father's past as he recalls brighter days with his wife (Charlize Theron), and in these flashbacks we also learn what happened to her. Some of the encounters the father and son experience along the way will challenge their spirits and there only goal is to survive another day.

The gritty tone of this film slowly sucks you in emotionally and engages you. You feel the cold and hunger these characters are experiencing and ultimately you find yourself submersed in their desolated world. Viggo Mortensen is a force to reckon with, he gives yet another terrific performance, and he carries this film. McPhee also delivers a strong performance playing the young and scared son who can't quite understand the lack of humanity. His father constantly reminds him that they must keep the fire within burning. Their relationship is the true core of this film and the film succeeds thanks to their believable performances. Despite the slow pacing, the film is well crafted and it manages to hold your attention.  It's not an easy watch and it's not a film you will want to visit again, but it is a well crafted film.

My Review: The Counselor (6/10)

"I'm pretty skeptical about the goodness of the good."

The Counselor is without a doubt one of the most divisive films of the year. It has received a lot of hatred, but at the same time some people absolutely loved it. I understand why this film has caused such a reaction because it doesn't follow your normal narrative structure and is heavy on the philosophical dialogues. I've liked most of Ridley Scott's films, I was one of the few who actually loved Prometheus, and I also think that Cormac McCarthy is a great novelist (No Country for Old Men being his masterpiece) so when I heard the two were going to work together I couldn't help but add this to my watchlist. My expectations took a blow when I read all the early reviews and so I went into this expecting a complete flaw. To my surprise it wasn't as bad as I was lead to believe (I can think of at least 50 films I've seen this year that are far worse) and I ended up slightly enjoying this. Despite its heavy loaded philosophical dialogues and lack of characterization, there are some great scenes in The Counselor and some great performances. This film easily has one of the most memorable murder scenes I've seen all year, but at the same time it has many scenes that really felt out of place (like the scene involving Cameron Diaz and the yellow Ferrari). The Counselor feels more like a McCarthy film than a Ridley Scott movie, and his dark humor and anti climatic scenes are all over the place here in this suspenseful thriller (if I can really call it that because it isn't really generic at all). The Counselor isn't an easy watch and at times it feels too preachy, but it kept my interest nonetheless. McCarthy's message about facing the consequences of your sins was loud and clear in The Counselor. 

The plot is pretty simple actually as the film focuses more on the dialogues than the actual events. Michael Fassbender plays a successful lawyer who is known simply as the Counselor. He falls deeply in love with Laura (Penelope Cruz), a girl of simple tastes, but in order to give her a dreamy life the Counselor decides to enter a one time deal involving drug trafficking. His business associate, the wealthy Reiner (Javier Bardem) who spends most of his time drinking expensive whisky in the mornings and watching his pet cheetahs hunt down rabbits, warns him about the dangers involved in this deal. Reiner has been in this business for a long time and knows how the cartel works, but the Counselor decides to team up with him nonetheless. Reiner's girlfriend, Malkina (Cameron Diaz), is a very smart woman who is kind of shady as Reiner never knows what she is up to. The middle man involved in the transaction between the cartel and Reiner is Westray (Brad Pitt) who also warns the Counselor about the world he's getting himself into. The deal is an apparently simple one as the cartel uses Reiner's trucks to carry the drugs to Chicago, but an unfortunate accident puts everyone's life in danger.

The Counselor, who ironically in this film is always receiving advice from everyone, learns that greed isn't a good thing. The film focuses on greed and evil, but there is way too much talking at times which makes it feel too preachy at times. I think that much of the criticism this film is receiving has to do with the high expectations that people had about it considering the talented cast and crew involved int his film. Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, and Brad Pitt actually lift this film in my opinion and make their characters bearable to watch on screen. These characters aren't people we would care for in any other film, but the actors make it tolerable. I especially liked Fassbender in this film and I think he gives yet another powerful performance. The weakest link here was Cameron Diaz who never felt natural in my opinion, but that perhaps was part of McCarthy's plan. She isn't as strong as Bardem was in No Country for Old Men, but she kind of plays that same character that McCarthy tends to include in his novels. This is the first time that McCarthy writes an original screenplay since the other films were based on his novels, and this is definitely more his film than Scott's. If you are a fan of his work than you will probably like this film more than other people. I think one of the key McCarthy moments can be seen through Ruben Blades's monologue about how our decisions ultimately set our fate. There are just too many memorable scenes in this film for me not to give it a passing grade. The Counselor isn't an easy watch, but if you go into it with your expectations lowered you might actually be in for a surprise.