Watching The Book of Eli just after watching The Road caused the Washington film to be a disappointment. It had gratuitous violence in it, did not develop the Washington character beyond the suggestion of a man who struggles to do good in the world but is so focused on keeping the book in his head. The Mortensen character of The Road is equally focused: making sure his son is safe, with food, away from the marauding bands of cannibals. But the moments in the film when the child functions as the voice of human decency and reminds his father that being the good guys means they need to share with others opens up the complexity of the father. With Eli, the fault is not the acting. It’s the script, or maybe the directing.
Mortensen was given an amazing role, following well the texture of the Cormac McCarthy novel, and he played it so sensitively, so darkly, softly, subtly. And the boy who played the boy was also wonderful, as was Duvall, always a stand-out however large or small the role.
