filmland / By Charlie Myers

Thrills! Spills! Apocalypse!

No doubt most viewers will enjoy this tripe more than I did. A woman sitting behind me howled with laughter. Plus she thinks Duhamel is a hunk. I can’t say the same about Bell. Hangover alert for all those fans out there: When in Rome may be the next Golden Globes winner. Rated PG-13 for some suggestive content. 91m. At the Broadway and Mill Creek.

THE ROAD: Cormac McCarthy’s 2006 novel The Road presents a daunting challenge as a film adaptation. The story of a father and son trying to reach the coast in a dying world following some unspecified catastrophe is almost unremittingly bleak. McCarthy’s writing style is unadorned and matter-of-fact yet oddly lyrical.

Director John Hillcoat and screenwriter Joe Penhall are up to the task; the film adaptation is remarkably faithful to McCarthy’s book both in terms of narration and tone. Except for brief flashbacks, the film’s washed out colors make it almost a black and white exercise. Hillcoat’s austere compositions and minimal camera movement are a nice filmic analogue to the novel’s writing style. And, while the story is bleak the film, like the novel, avoids all sentimentality.

Viggo Mortensen as the father brings a fine low-key intensity to this tale of survival, and Kodi Smit-McPhee delivers a very sensitive performance as the son.

The father tells his son that they are “good people” and must carry the fire. In a way, the journey is a quest to discover whether any other good people still exist. For most of the film, the answer is no. But although the story is bleak, it ends with the possibility of redemption. Stay for the end credits and pick out the ambient sounds under them. Rated R for some violence, disturbing images and language. 111m. At the Minor.

Continuing

ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL. Alvin and the gang meet their female rivals, the Chipettes. Watch the fur fly! Rated PG. 88m. At the Broadway and Fortuna.

AVATAR. Military forces attempt to control and exploit a region and its people, whom they know little about (In 3D). Rated PG-13. 162m. At the Broadway (3D), Fortuna (3D) and Mill Creek.

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