Movie Review: Road to Perdition

Road to Perdition

In this period piece based on a graphic novel by Max Allan Collins, the audience travels to Midwestern America in 1931 where times were simpler but men were not. Tom Hanks is Michael Sullivan, a man who personally owes much to a powerful town scion - and mobster - named John Rooney (Paul Newman). It is established early in the film that Sullivan views Rooney as the father he never had, and to that end works for Rooney as an enforcer of unquestioned loyalty. Sullivan's own two sons are blissfully ignorant of what their father does for a living and how the kindly old man they love actually earns his considerable wealth. All of that changes when Sullivan's oldest son and namesake (Tyler Hoechlin) witnesses a mob execution in which Sullivan and Rooney's own ne'er do well son, Connor (Daniel Craig), play a role.

The elder Sullivan goes on the run with his boy in an attempt to keep him safe as well as innocent. How much he succeeds - and fails - with his mission makes this a story of the obvious love of a father for his son as well as a complex tale of subjective morality. Road to Perdition is named for the town in Michigan the Sullivans are trying to reach, but it serves a double meaning as the road to Hell Hanks' character believes his life has taken. As the Sullivans try to keep ahead of trouble, Connor will stop at nothing to get rid of his rival for his father's affections, even to the point of hiring a freelance photographer cum hit man (Jude Law) to track down the Sullivans and ensure their silence. The elder Rooney, meanwhile, is forced to choose between a son he knows is no good, and the man who is not his son, but whom he clearly wishes was.

The 1930's setting is a delight for set decorating and cosume fans. To get the costumes to fall correctly from the actor's bodies, special cloth had to be woven (modern fabrics weren't sufficiently heavy). The streets of Chicago were filled with period automobiles, but real present-day locations were used (modern buildings were digitally removed from the film). Even such period details as the fact that corpses were often placed on ice to slow decomposition were used.

Road to Perdition was directed to Sam Mendes, the man who won an Oscar™ for American Beauty, the first film he ever directed. His sure hand once again brings us a story that's far more than mere entertainment. We care about these characters, and are riveted to their trial and tribulations. Tom Hanks is understated, but his anguish and love for his son are portrayed to perfection. Paul Newman takes an oddly dual role - that of a loving family man and a ruthless gangster - and combines them seamlessly into a character you know you ought to fear, but yet somehow garners your sympathy. Jude Law is an extraordinarly handsome man, but you'd never know it from the make-up he endures as Maguire. That Law can make you cringe virtually every time he appears on screen is testament both to the terrific make-up crew as well as his own considerable abilities. And 13 year-old Tyler Hoechlin is by turns resolute and adult, then afraid and innocent. Hoechlin straddles the line between childhood and maturity with impressive skill.

Some critics have said Road to Perdition is the first film of 2002 worthy of serious Oscar™ consideration. I'd have to say that, where Mendes, Hanks, and Newman are concerned - and probably the costumers and set decorators, as well as the movie itself - they're right.

NOTE: There is a strong anti-gun message within Road to Perdition, but it is thankfully brief and saved for the end. Steven Spielberg was, by the way, a party to the making of this movie...

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Road to Perdition is rated R. There are moments of very graphic violence, and the entire theme is for adults. I'd recommend this movie to anyone 16 and over.