The Book of Eli
2010 · Directed by Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes
Original language: English
- action
- thriller
- science fiction
The story
A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.
What it’s like
Bleached, sun-scorched palettes dominate this post-apocalyptic road film, with washed-out ochres, rust and dust-grey skies, and the occasional glint of chrome against a desert horizon. The Hughes brothers frame wide, empty American landscapes and ruined towns with a steady, wandering camera, punctuated by sudden kinetic bursts of handheld close-quarters fighting and tightly edited gunfights. Sound leans on wind, footsteps on gravel and a low, droning score that swells into percussive tension during confrontations, with long quiet stretches between them. The vibe is grim, dusty and quietly devout, a slow, weary hum of survival with flashes of chaos. It suits a long-haul flight or a late-night watch when you want atmosphere and a sense of isolation more than comfort. Violence is frequent and often brutal, with bloody close-range gunfights, stabbings and some graphic gore, and there are disturbing scenes of cannibalism and cruelty. Sexual content is minimal. It is for viewers who enjoy bleak, faith-tinged genre films and can handle a hard, unsparing tone.
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