rmurray847
"lntriguing, captivating and a bit hard to believe"
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The 2002 crime drama directed by Sam Mendes and starring Tom Hanks.
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This movie has many, many great things to recommend it. The cinematography and art direction are first rate. The casting is very good, I think. Tom Hanks as an "enforcer" for the mob is not terribly hard to buy. He does his job because its what he owes to his boss, who was like a father to him, and its what keeps his family living a nice life. He works hard to keep his family insulated from what he does for a living, and Hanks is right for the part. We know him as a nice guy. He's trustworthy and personable. In this film, he leads a double life...he kills people. And that is a bit jarring for us, the viewer. However, we don't actually see him doing his job very often, and in one critical early scene, he's actually NOT planning on killing the guy...it's his bosses crazy son that does it, and that's where the trouble starts, because Hanks' son witnesses this killing, and suddenly, Hank's family is a target, and thus, all his efforts to shield his family from the reality of what he does come crashing tragically down around him.
+3
Paul Newman is terrific as the boss. He's a "gentle" soul with the true heart of a killer. Newman is a master of underplaying. His eyes tell us almost all we need to know, and the rest is conveyed in his husky voice. We should all age as openly and gracefully as Paul Newman!
Jude Law plays a hit man hired to track down and kill Hanks. What a crazy character he is...a photographer who enjoys photographing the moment his victims die. We've seen this sort of psychopath before, but to see it in a "period" piece rather than in modern times is a bit jarring. Law limps, has bad teeth and is just generally disgusting. He's a killer WITHOUT a gentle side. Is this more honest than Hanks' split personality? This is one of the questions I think the movie quietly explores.
The movie is not fast-paced, but I don't think it drags. It tells its story with respect for storytelling, rather than a need to have shooting all the time. Yet there is plenty of action and there are many tense moments, particularly between Hanks and Law, who have some memorable confrontations, particularly when they are in a crowded diner together, and Hanks realises who Law is and what he has been sent to do.
About halfway through the movie, Hanks and his son, who are on the lam from retribution, decide they need to make a statement to the boss. Hanks decides they need to rob all the banks where the mob keeps its money, in order to get their attention. He and his son have several "wacky" bank-holdup scenes, with Hanks being very amusing with the bemused bank tellers, and his young son being funny learning how to drive by being the getaway driver. The scenes are fun...you can imagine Speilberg directing them. Yet they are untrue to the tone of the movie. These two people have just recently lost the rest of their family very violently, and their lives have become hell. Yet suddenly, they are in a screwball comedy!! I'm sure director Sam Mendes felt the audience needed a break from all the bleakness, but ultimately, these scenes betray the characters, and that's why the movie only gets 4 stars from me.
BUT any discerning moviegoer should see this movie...it's one of the 10 best of the year, I think.
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Road to Perdition is a movie that brings you in with the strong performances of its acting cast and keeps your interest with cinematography that is some of the finest ever seen in Hollywood. It is a tale of fathers, their sons, and the gangster era of Al Capone. It pits hit man Michael Sulivan (Hanks) against a bounty hunter (Jude Law) who has been hired by his boss, and father figure John Rooney (Paul Newman) as Sulivan attempts to kill Rooney's trigger happy son (Daniel Craig). At the same time … more
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rmurray847
I've got my own site, www.afilmcritic.com, on which I'm posting my reviews. I am 46 years old, married 25 years, two kids (23 & 18) and currently work in accounting/finance. I spent 15 years … more
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About this movie
InRoad to Perdition, Tom Hanks plays a hit man who finds his heart. Michael Sullivan (Hanks) is the right-hand man of crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman), but when Sullivan's son accidentally witnesses one of his hits, he must choose between his crime family and his real one. The movie has a slow pace, largely because director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) seems to be in love with the gorgeous period locations. Hanks gives a deceptively battened-down performance at first, only opening up toward the very end of the film, making his character's personal transformation all the more convincing. Newman turns in a masterful piece of work, revealing Rooney's advancing age but at the same time, his terrifying power. Jude Law is also a standout, playing a hit man-photographer with chilling creepiness. This movie requires a little patience, but the beautiful cinematography and moving ending make it well worth the wait.--Ali Davis
Cast:
Daniel Craig,
Tom Hanks,
Paul Newman,
Dylan Baker,
Alfred Molina,
Ciarán Hinds,
Jennifer Jason Leigh,
Stanley Tucci,
Ed Kross,
Doug Spinuzza,
Liam Aiken,
James Greene,
Mina Badie,
Duane Sharp,
Ian Barford,
Jude Law,
Jackie Moran,
Harry Groener,
John Judd,
Jobe Cerny,
Roderick Peeples,
Christian Stolte,
David Darlow,
Jack Callahan,
Kevin Chamberlin,
Lara Phillips,
Phil Ridarelli,
John Sierros,
Peggy Roeder,
Keith Kupferer,
Timothy Hendrickson,
Tyler Hoechlin,
Michael Brockman,
Diane Dorsey,
Lance Baker,
The Monte Carlos,
Maurie Gallagher,
Michael Sassone,
Stephen P. Dunn,
Dylan Barker,
Nicholas Cade,
Marty Higginbotham,
Kathleen Keane,
Lawrence MacGowan,
Rob Maxey,
Brendan McKinney,
Kurt Naebig,
Heidi Jayne Netzley,
Paul Newmans,
Kieran O'Hare,
Lee Roy Rogers,
Jon Sattler,
Craig Spidle,
John Sterchi,
Paul Turner
Director:
Sam Mendes
Genre:
Action,
Crime,
Drama,
Film-Noir
Release Date:
July 12, 2002
MPAA Rating:
R
Screen Writer:
Max Allan Collins
Runtime:
1hr 56min
Studio:
Dreamworks
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