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Road To Perdition
on DVD (2002)
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| Starring: |
Tom Hanks, Tyler Hoechlin, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Daniel Craig, Jennifer Jason Leigh |
| Director: |
Sam Mendes |
| Studio: |
20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time: |
112 mins |
| Certificate: |
 |
| User collections: |
FROM THE PAGE TO THE SCREEN, Greatest of 2 decades, Great Films Based On Comics, 50 more jolly good films, The Great Films of the Noughties, Heart stopping films, Comic Book Coolness, Best Mob Films Of All Time, Altair's Awesome Assassins, My Essential Movies |
| Genres: |
Drama |
| Languages: |
English |
| Released: |
17/03/2003
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Brief synopsis of Road To Perdition
Directed by Sam Mendes and based on the graphic novel by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner, the Depression-era crime epic ROAD TO PERDITION stars Tom Hanks as Michael Sullivan, a quiet hit man who is duty bound to Mafia boss John Rooney (Paul Newman). The mobster's close bond with Sullivan, however, leads Rooney's jealous blood son, Connor (Daniel Craig), to orchestrate a tragic series of events that results in Sullivan on the run with his 12-year-old son, Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin). Soon an unscrupulous crime photographer/assassin named Maguire (Jude Law) is sent after Sullivan and his son, and Sullivan must decide on a course of action as young Michael comes to terms with his father's violent way of life.
Meticulously directed by Mendes and brilliantly photographed by Conrad Hall, each scene of ROAD TO PERDITION has the composition of an expertly rendered painting. Making effective use of rain, snow, and shadows, the filmmakers create a cinematic world that's as dark, cold, and unforgiving as many of its inhabitants. But the film also allows for glimpses of emotional warmth, particularly in Sullivan's relationships with his son and Rooney, his surrogate father. In these roles, the respective actors create complex characters that resonate even in their restraint; Hanks is outstanding as a man of action with little time for words, while newcomer Hoechlin creates an unsentimental portrait of a confused boy, and Newman once again proves why he's a screen legend. And, in a strikingly unflattering role, Law makes the most out of his screen time as a creepy, parasitic hit man. Even in its harshest moments, however, Mendes never fails to remind the audience that ROAD TO PERDITION is a film about fathers and sons; and this is what elevates it from an atmospheric gangster movie to a truly astonishing work of art.
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Related
Critics Reviews
Radio Times
Director Sam Mendes here follows up his superlative Oscar winner American Beauty with another riveting, intelligent drama imbued with lyrical imagery. Based on a graphic novel set during the Depression era, it features Tom Hanks as a feared hitman working for Irish-American Mob boss Paul Newman, the man who raised him as a son. Professional and familial loyalties become blurred when Hanks's own family is targeted, forcing him to take to the road with his eldest son, as he embarks on a systematic course of revenge against his betrayers. Comparable to the Coen brothers' Miller's Crossing, this evocative gangster movie boasts superb photography, production design and score, which utterly transport the audience back to moody 1930s Chicago. Cast against type, Hanks — whose haunted eyes speak volumes — is a model of unruffled understatement, while an intimidating Newman radiates his usual strong presence. Jude Law's eccentric killer feels too much like a colourful movie creation, but is the only minor setback in a remarkable second feature from Mendes.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Visually splendid crime thriller, with a balletic finale in the rain; but the approach is too ponderous to be entirely engaging and Hanks makes an unconvincing killer.
Time Out
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and there are too many here for a film which fancies itself...
Read more on www.timeout.com
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