I saw it tonight and thought it was almost unbearable. It's so grim and hopeless that I had a hard time finishing it. While the script (and the book) is careful to not explain what happened, the event has all the signs of an asteroid impact or supervolcano explosion. The few survivors have lost most traces of civilization. We are not sure just how long it's been since the event but there are no animals left and vegetation all appears to be dead. Food is scarce, the father is suffering from silicosis and the ocean is gray. In short, the earth is fu**ed and everybody is dying.
I thought the acting was quite believable. Nobody had names. The kid may have been whiny, but that's the way kids are when things are bad. He was also traumatized, desperate and scared; quite a range for such a young actor. Vigo was excellent, as was the small role by Robert Duvall. Music production by Nick Cave (a favorite of mine) worked. This is an unbelievably depressing movie, so if you're not in the mood for the end times, don't see it. Last week, I saw, the Book of Eli, so I was sorta ready for the apocalypse, but this flick makes Eli look cheery. I can't say that you will enjoy the movie unless you have a really dark perspective on things, but it is very well done and well worth a view.
