A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind and water. It is cold enough to crack stones and, when the snow falls, it is gray. Their destination is the warmer south, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there.
Acting
Mortensen's hollowed eyes carry entire civilizations of grief.
Cinematography
Every frame looks like the world already ended years ago.
Score
Sparse and crushing—silence hurts more than sound.
Director
John Hillcoat
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Cormac McCarthy wrote the novel after becoming a father at 65; the book's dedication to his son John Francis haunts every frame.
The actual disaster is never named—Hillcoat and McCarthy agreed nuclear winter felt too dated, so they left it beautifully, horribly vague.
US
