Road to Perdition -- R
Starring: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Showing: Showplace East 11
Many critics have compared Sam Mendes' sophomore directorial effort to Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather," and while both films revolve around the world of organized crime the similarities stop there. "Road to Perdition" is a mafia film, but first and foremost it's a tale of fathers and sons.
Tom Hanks bravely tackles a role far removed from his likable, all-American persona with the character Michael Sullivan, a stone cold hitman for the Rock Island branch of the Chicago mob, circa 1931.
Sullivan works for his surrogate father figure, John Rooney (Paul Newman). But Rooney has a son of his own, Connor (Daniel Craig), who's jealous of the mutual adulation the men share for one another.
Connor is eventually given the chance to rid himself of Sullivan when his curious young son, Michael Jr. (newcomer Tyler Hoechlin), witnesses what his father does for a living. The elder Sullivan's personal and professional lives are soon set on a collision course when his wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and youngest son Peter (Liam Aiken) are brutally slain at the hands of Connor.
Not long after, the remaining Sullivans flee on the blood soaked "Road to Perdition" in order to exact revenge. At the same time, they are pursued by a perverse rival assassin/murder scene photographer named Maguire (Jude Law).
"Road to Perdition" is a viscerally and emotionally charged film noir with style to burn. Mendes was smart enough to re-team with exceptional cinematographer Conrad Hall, who previously shot "American Beauty." He infuses every solitary moment of "Perdition" with grace and beauty. The world he creates is one of foreboding, darkness and cold, which works beautifully alongside Thomas Newman's (another "American Beauty" alum) haunting score.
The performances are also first rate. Hanks may just win his third Academy Award for his subtle but moving work. Newman infuses his patriarchal Irish mobster role with a creepily menacing grandfatherly aura. Hoechlin is likable, natural and holds his own amongst the best in biz. But Jude Law steals the show with his startlingly garish physical transformation. He's given little time in the flick, but manages to inject every moment with an utter sense of depravity that serves the film well.
Ignore the hype, "Road to Perdition" is not "The Godfather." If anything it's far more akin to the Coen Brothers' 1990 film "Miller's Crossing" or Koike and Kojima's beloved comic "Lone Wolf and Cub," while simultaneously being something new and different. Original or not, "Road to Perdition" is the best film so far this summer.
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