This film is a dull disappointment at best. I have not read the book nor plan to. It astounds me how many people are impressed with this unbalanced, relatively lacklustre film. The dismal scenery wouldn't be so much the problem had the material itself been worthwhile.<br /><br />I'm not one to be afraid of bleak material. A work of art should never have to explain itself but there has to be structure, variety of themes, ideas, coherence and plausibility. The Road is a plausible story but tailored to an audience without a sense of humour, people who happen to revel in pessimism and continually find the much abused 'redemption' theme somehow original in an industry saturated with Holocaust films and romantic comedies. (If it isn't the rush to the airport scenario/make-up scenes, its the release of a prisoner.) The human character is far more complex than this film would you lead to believe. The acting is good, acceptable but at times it would be nice to see a smile, let alone a nuance as opposed to the three blasting emotional tenors of fear, anguish and sorrow. Imagine listening to a song with only minor chords and you'll understand that there is virtually no spectrum here, let alone a hint of subtlety in the performances. Viggo is good but one gets the impression he could have 'mailed' it in (to borrow a much-used cliché).<br /><br />One thing I continually find difficult is that for a man who is determined to get somewhere like Viggo's character, wouldn't he have greater emotional tools as well as survival skills to get to his goal? We understand he has endured a great deal and a man can only take so much but wouldn't there be evidence of his deeper will in his coping? Watching the film I only saw physical reactions to the hostile environment and never human, below the surface ones.<br /><br />The viewer has to ask his or herself - is watching this film an exercise in spiritual let alone intellectual masochism? Without any character development, without a sympathetic lead, the audience is only trudging along miserably with our two supposed 'heroes' and for a discerning viewer, one should eventually feel cheated with this film's reliance on the visceral to provide sustenance instead of a story. There is nothing really at stake in this movie beyond survival. The post-apocalyptic world of The Road is empty, colourless and seemingly devoid of relationships. Sure the father loves his son and there are some tender moments but the unconditional love for the child by the father cannot carry a story.<br /><br />But somehow I get the impression that the politics of Oscar will somehow keep this film on the clunky pop-cultural radar. For me, it is a case of the Emperor's New Clothes and I'm tired of seeing Viggo's ass.