Friday, 22 May 2009

It's official - I am NOT watching the movie of The Road


That's it, the trailer is out (below and on side trailer bar) and i am NOT watching The Road.
I've been nervous about this one since it was announced, largely because what i loved about the book (one of 3 all-time favourites along with A Christmas Carol and 1984) was the knowledge it could never be made into a movie - it's too internal.
Then someone i know who had read the script but not the book gave me their impressions of the story and i started to get the idea the adaptation might be going places that would make me unhappy.
Last year i re-read the book only a year after i had read it for the first time because i wanted to make sure i read it again before my memories were sullied by the movie (if that occurred). Then it was delayed. Then it was delayed again. Now i plan to read the book again.
Now the trailer has hit and worst fears appear manifest. One of the greatest things about the book is the fact it takes place in a post-apocalyptic world but the events preceding the story in the book (solely about the emotional, spiritual and physical journey of a father and son survivors) are not gone into. We don't know what happened, why it happened and we don't need to. It is NOT IMPORTANT. The only things that are important are the father; the son; their survival - their story!
But this trailer suggests we are going to get the explanation, that the mother character (Charlize Theron here) has been significantly enlarged; that the brooding danger of the books rare close-shaves with cannibalistic survivors has become a much more in your face fight for survival from them.
I wish i could go back and stop myself watching this trailer as the images from it are already bothering me but at least i can still stop myself from watching the full film and ruining my experience of the book.
So that's it, i shall go on re-reading and loving the book but now i know for certain i shall not be watching this film.

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