I plan to do my essay on Cormac McCarthy's book, The Road and the subsequent adaptation of the same name, Directed by John Hillcoat and adapted to screen Joe Penhall . The book tells the struggle of a father and a his child traversing across post apocoliptic America in search of a safer place to stay. The books tone is very somber and grey, the film adaptation stays true to this feeling of opression and impending doom. The book also is very exoplicit in it's portrtayl of a post acopoliptic America, people doing what they need to survive and this involves cannibalism. The book won many awards and was commended for the unromantic way it put across a post apocalyptic world.
There has only been one adaptation of the Road to date, it was released in 2009 3 years after the original release of the novel. It was well received by critics and holds an average of 75% on rotten tomatoes. The adaptation itself I felt was very faithful to the original story, at its heart it's about the ordinary people in extradionary situations. The film stays true to the gritty realism of the book in every way, from "the man's" (Vigo Mortinassans) yellow teeth to the cannibalism and degradation of human society. It isn't a book full of happy moments and it does'nt have a fairy tale ending and the adaptation feels like a true mirror of the feelings and tone of the book.
I want to show how the adaptation stayed as true to the book as was possible, it keeps to the depressing tone of the book and how thorough casting and a well done screenplay the book brings to life the world of Cormac McCarthy.
Literature review http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2009/11/25/john_hillcoat_s_adaptation_of_the_road_is_too_faithful.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/the-road,1148587/critic-review.html
http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2009/11/interview-joe-penhall-road.html