The Road (2011)
Starring: Carmina Villaroel, Rhian Ramos, TJ Trinidad
Writers: Aloy Adlawan, Yam Laranas
Director: Yam Laranas
SLIGHT spoilers in the story breakdowns. I placed dashes at the beginning and ends
Story:
Three teens go missing on an abandoned
dirt road. The search for them leads to other mysteries which cause law
enforcement to reopen a twelve year old cold case file, placing a
recently promoted police officer at the head of the investigation.
Review:
Coming from the Philippines, The Road
is a film broken down into three parts, taking place over a period of twenty
years. We start in reverse, going from 2008 to 1988. I must say right
here and now that I really wish it had played out in order. The first
section is so explosive and intense and filled to the brim with creep
out moments that the more slow burning, cold, moody second and third
acts simply cannot match up. It throws the pacing off enough that by
the third part, the main thought in my mind was that the film had ran
about twenty minutes too long. Fucking shame, because I really loved
how well this started out.
--We begin with the promotion of a police
officer, and a mother who's still after twelve long years desperate to find her two daughters. Then, the story quickly
proceeds's to three teens sneaking one of their parents' car out in
the dead of night to go cruising on an old secluded dirt road. As you
can guess, things quickly go to hell in a hand basket. A mysterious
red car passes them repeatedly, and the run-ins with said vehicle get
a bit more intense and alarming each time.--
Part 1: 2008 is where it's at! It's
written and captured really well, with some bad ass overhead views of
the long endless roads drenched in vast darkness. I got a strong Dead
End vibe a few times. The performances from the three teens seem a
bit off at times, and the dude makes some gravely idiotic decisions,
but the story moves at such a speedy pace --while throwing tons of
crazy shit at you-- that the flaws are easily forgivable. By the time
this first chapter ended, I was so damn into The Road that I was
melted into my couch with my knees pressed against my chest and my
arms wrapped around them tightly. I simply couldn't wait to see what was
coming next.
--The second section
takes us back to 1998. Two sisters break down on the road and end up
asking for the assistance of a young man passing by on foot. He
directs them to follow him back to his home, and that's when a broken
down car becomes the least of their problems.--
Part 2: 1998
starts off great. Yam Larans' cinematography is absolutely beautiful,
with epic use of vintage style tinting on every frame to nail in the
sunset effect. Johan Soderqvist's (Let the Right One In) score has a
solemn atmosphere similar to early Silent Hill video games and save
spot music from Resident Evil 4. This all leads us in a frightening
transition, then the damn thing comes to a stand still that goes on a bit too long. However, the
story manages to pick itself up out of its puddle to serve up a
pretty damn awesome reveal, and a few gut churning moments on the SFX
side. Still, nowhere near as fascinating as where the first section
had us.
--Now we go back to
1988, where a sheltered little boy is abused and physically and
verbally by his wicked mother on the daily. The father is around, but
unfortunately Momma is wearing the pants here. Once the boy meets and
interacts with a young girl whom was hired to do their laundry, Momma
goes a bit fucking bonkers.--
Part 3: 1988 gives
us some beautiful fairytale dream-like cinematography with the way
the sun gleams through the trees outside the sheltered boy's house. Additionally,
Carmina Villaroel's performance as the mother is goddamn outstanding.
There's a few freaky moments thrown about, but overall, I just
couldn't keep interested in this section. The conclusion of the
prologue is a bit more gratifying, but I gotta say it one more time-
nothing else here can touch the first act. Nothing.
Final thoughts:
I had some uber
high hopes for The Road when I first caught on to the trailer several
months back, and I wish my expectations had been met. I will give
credit to Yam Laranas, though. Dude has a great eye for striking
visuals, and I look forward to seeing future projects. Just wish this
film hadn't gone with a nonlinear approach. I usually love that kind
of shit, as well as like slow tension building stories. It just
didn't work for me here.
