Original CoverWhile reading Cormac McCarthy's, The Road, I couldn't help but think to myself how amazing it would be on the big screen. Envisioning the dark, desolate setting of this post-apocalyptic world, I would daydream about how they would portray it in film.
Like any other book addict, I was aimlessly wandering around Borders one day when I noticed the title of a very familiar paperback: The Road. The cover was different; it was no longer the plain, black, cover that I owned. Initially this disappointed me. The simplistic, yet dark cover it originally was symbolized the world McCarthy portrays on the inside. The barren, gloomy cover coinicided with the sinister, mysterious world the characters face in the novel. As I disappointedly headed over to investigate it, I noticed the illustration was actually a photograph. Or was it a still frame? A potential movie poster? As I snatched the book off the Bestsellers' table, the frown on my face quickly transformed into a beaming grin as I read, "Now A Motion Picture" across the cover. I looked up at the strangers around me, all shopping halfheartedly, unaware of this incredible discovery I had just come upon. It took a great deal of self control to not turn to the person next to me, shove the book in their face, and say, "Oh my God, did you see this?!"
I was absolutely ecstatic to see that one of my favorite books would soon be coming to theaters. Naturally, I searched IMDb the first chance I got. Since the movie is not to be released until later this year, information was rather limited. But to my surprise, there were a few pictures of the film. "Perfect," I thought as I looked them over in awe. Perhaps they were able to truly illustrate the dismal world McCarthy aggressively writes of...
A man and his son are living in a post-apocolyptic world--dark, ash covered, lifeless, and above all, treacherous. Humanity is minimal, and what is left of it could hardly be considered humane. Most people that are still living have converted to cannibalism--besides the man and his son. They are determined to find a haven again. Is there any safe place left? Will they make it there alive? Readers are faced with these questions as we are taken on a suspenseful, disturbing, and at times heartrending ride across a tarnished, desolate America.
So will they be able to capture the intensity and depth of McCarthy's words? Will I be one of those crazed fanatics screaming out in the theater, "No, that's not right!" Hopefully not. But as I've said before, the book is normally better than the movie. Accuarately depicting this controversial and pyschological book should be an interesting cinematic vision. Will they do it?
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I enjoyed this post. I've never heard about this book before, although it sort of sounds familiar. I would like to know why you enjoyed this book so much, and what separates it from other post-apocalyptic books/movies, because while I'm sure it's exciting, what makes it different from Doomsday, which was about post-apocalyptic America (I think) where the survivors resort to cannibalism and, just like here, those who don't are searching for a world to rebuild or live in civilized. I'm not trying to take anything away from the book, and I am certainly not saying you should go see Doomsday, or that it's even remotely as good, but you see the point. Go more in depth, get me just as interested as you are even though I've never read it before. And yes, the books, most of the time, are better than the movie, but the movies are always a fun new way to look at the story
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