Chris Pine, the new Captain Kirk in the Star Trek reboot, co-stars here as Brian, a confident young man who’s struggling to keep his younger brother Danny (Lou Taylor Pucci) alive after a killer virus has ravaged the world. Brian’s girlfriend Bobby (the always good Piper Perabo) and Kate (Emily VanCamp), another young woman, are along for the ride in a stolen Mercedes sedan that they guys have commandeered for a road trip to a beach resort that Brian and Danny used to go to when they were kids. Since it was where they had their best memories from childhood--not to mention that fact that it’s off the beaten track--the gang hopes to ride out the pandemic in this safe haven.
But their trip down a lonely back road hits a snag when they encounter Frank
(Christopher Meloni, from Law & Order: SVU) and his young daughter Jodie (Kiernan Shipka). Frank has his SUV blocking the narrow desert road, and he’s begging them for gas so that he could take his daughter to a nearby town, where word has it the doctors may have a serum that might cure the virus. Yet once they see that young Jody is already infected with the virus, Brian and the others hightail it out of there--only to permanently damage the car while driving over the rocks on the side of the road.
With their Mercedes now useless, the gang make an uneasy compromise; they’ll drive Frank and Jody to town in the SUV, provided they remain in the cargo section, which is sealed off with plastic sheeting and duct tape. But as writer/directors Alex and David Pastor show with their well-made film, the best laid plans so often do not work out just as you planned. If you’re the type who enjoys a good post-apocalyptic action film, with plenty of gunfire and explosions, then you might be disappointed with the subdued Carriers, which is more of a drama that uses its apocalyptic setting to examine not just the break down in society, but the break down in personal relationships, as well.
Pine is very good here as the tough, resourceful Brian, who must make some very hard decisions along the way. He’s also something of a reckless jerk who is kept in check by his more thoughtful brother Danny, who was supposed to go to Yale before the virus struck. Yet Danny’s resolve to maintain his decency is sorely tested in a devastated world where day to day survival requires taking what you need by force. Perabo and VanCamp are also very good here; and scenes where the characters struggle to avoid being exposed to the virus will make hypochondriacs watching this squirm uneasily.
--SF
