This past week I have been fighting conditions that in no such way are comparable to Papa or the boy's, but nonetheless awful and conditions I would not even wish upon my arch enemy. The flu. Sitting around on my couch with countless episodes of Netflix shows behind me, I decided there was no better time to begin a movie. Scrolling through the endless pages of Netflix, the idea came to me. Perhaps The Road was made into a movie adaptation? Perhaps it was on Netflix? Indeed it was, and all I had to do was hit play.
In short, the movie was great. I am not sure whether that was because I understood the underlying meanings behind or I was able to predict the pinnacle scenes. Many of my English teachers, even my parents, have told me that there is much more value in immersing oneself in a novel rather than watching a movie; however, though there is a difference between watching a movie and reading a book, each has their own special ways of revealing ideas and emotions behind the story. With a novel, you read every word. You read some words twice, three times, four if they really have stood out or are perplexing. A skilled reader can draw substance and meaning from these words. They need to build the setting, the environment, the tone, the mood, the theme all from these words. It's no easy task. With a movie, less attention is paid to studying the words and creating meaning out of them. A movie does a much better job in capturing the emotions and feelings of the movie, of the characters within it. In a movie, you can see the small changes in a character's face that indicate distress, despair, or joy. If an author were to include every small detail in a novel, it would result in being a very, very long book.
With The Road, what fascinated me most was the setting and the barren environment. Of course, I had created my own rendition of the conditions that Papa and the boy were surviving in, but I had never envisioned it as it was portrayed in the film. I imagined the landscape with trees that were evergreen, such as the trees I experience in New England. I imagined their world looked like my "winter wonderland", with much more ash and fire. On the other hand, the movie saw the landscape filled with leafless, often branchless trees. They looked like headstones at a cemetery, littering the entire world. Another important part of the setting that was done well in the film was the sky. As one would have imagined while reading the novel, there was not much difference in visibility from night to day, and this was captured very well in the film.
Tapping back into the "movies bring out more emotion" argument I proposed earlier, there were a few scenes that were unforgettable in the novel, and much more everlasting and powerful in the film. The first scene was when Papa was washing the boy's hair to rid it of the blood from the man that Papa had shot through the head. The boy is crying and screaming because of both the cold water and the traumatizing situation. Watching this unfold, rather than reading it, evoked much more emotion from me. The next scene, and in my opinion, the toughest to stomach, was the cannibal scene where Papa discovered a basement full of live people soon to be eaten. When I read the scene, I was definitely shocked and disgusted. However, when I watched the scene, I was horrified. I sensed more danger, more sadness, and more death.
While I have stated the differences in perception between the film and the novel, one scene left me with the same feeling. The final scene. In the movie, it was extended a small amount to include the family the man was talking about. Nevertheless, this scene left me with the same, optimistic feeling that it had from the novel. The last scene wraps up the themes that the novel developed, by allowing McCarthy and the director to insert their own thoughts on the thematic ideas (though I'm sure the director didn't have much choice). It shows how goodness always survives and that a strong faith can break through the most desperate of situations.
All in all, this is my final blog post, and I must admit; this experience has taught me a new way to approach and understand novels. I am very eager to move on to my next novel, but keeping The Road in mind, and apply my newfound methods to it.
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