Directed by:
Sam MendesScreenplay:
David SelfCinematography:
Conrad L. HallComposer:
Thomas NewmanCast:
Tom Hanks, Tyler Hoechlin, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Daniel Craig, Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Liam Aiken, Dylan Baker, Ciarán Hinds, David Darlow (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Two fathers: Michael Sullivan, a hit man for the Irish mob in Depression-era Chicago; and Mr. John Rooney, Sullivan's boss and the man who raised him as a son. Two sons: Michael Sullivan, Jr. and Connor Rooney, each desperate to earn his father's favor. Jealousy and competition put them all on a collision course, ultimately bringing Sullivan's work into his private life and leading to the death of his beloved wife and youngest son, Peter. Now Michael Sullivan and his surviving son are set on a journey instigated by tragedy and fueled by revenge. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (14)
I thought my taste was only oriented towards horror and Asia, this film confirms that my favorite subgenre is also gritty gangster films. Once again, an excellent cast, I've never had my fingers crossed for Tom Hanks like I did here, and as soon as the psychopathic Jude Law appears on the scene you wish him the worst from the first second. I definitely have to highlight the amazingly dark retro style, the intelligent story and the awesome soundtrack, even a tear dropped towards the end. Everything is actually flawless, nothing can be faulted.
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Excellent, but missing something for a full rating, even if it fulfils almost everything I expected. First of all, superb actors, a precise atmosphere full of revenge and grief, and a lot of very well shot shootouts. Moreover, Sam Mendes is truly unique and his subtle and precise signature literally radiates from every shot. What disappointed me a bit was the poorly built-up finale and also, and I can't help it, the somewhat faintly outlined relationship between the killer-father and his young son, which should be the main driving force. Otherwise, though, Mendes has once again shown to be a brilliant director, and his Road to Perdition is a bleak and thrilling spectacle unparalleled in recent years. 85%
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This is comic book taking another beating. But I don't want to start with the negatives: Road to Perdition is an excellently shot film with Newman's successful music, which appropriately supports the melancholic cinematography, and which, when added together, makes for a truly dense atmosphere. Sam Mendes has traditionally been able to nicely handle conversation and action scenes (the shootout in the room is something else - I'm looking forward to Skyfall), and the actors who have come together here are all excellent and do a really good job (I even took seriously the gangster played by Tom) and... And that's where the pros end. The biggest downside is... You guessed right... The script. I wonder why filmmakers keep doing this, but even this time they only took certain things from the comics (the opening 30 minutes or so and the bank robbery), twisted or threw away the rest and added their own ideas. And what ideas those were! Like the killer Maguire - sorry Jude, he's brilliantly acted, really, but completely unnecessary. Or the farmer and his wife, the stay with them and the silly epilogue that goes with it. Bleh. And so on. It’s too bad, because such a solid gangster atmosphere shouldn't be wasted. I give three and a half stars to this.
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Thanks to Mendes, this atmospheric gangster movie is quite untraditional (for the genre, not for Sam) in terms of visuals and is more colorful than usual. Sort of unusually “beautiful", but still dark. Excellent acting and that revolting creature Jude Law got that trick with the coin down to a T. Road to Perdition has several extraordinary scenes, but Thompson in the rain is enough to give you a heart attack.
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Or: How Even the Most Direct Road to Perdition Can Lead to Movie Perfection. A visually indescribably atmospheric watch. Precise acting, perfect camerawork and faultless and inventive directing. Sam Mendes filmed so far the most faithful adaptation of a comic book to come to the movie screen so far. Although the storyline is simple, that’s where its strength lies. It could be criticized for being a wonderful shiny load of nothing about father and son finding a way to each other, but that’s not the feeling I get from this. Quite the contrary, for one thing, the scene in the rain is now in my top ten best scenes ever. It just has everything. From emotions, through marvelous production design, immense atmosphere to the actors. And the entire movie is like that, just perhaps not so intense all the while. And that’s pretty good, don’t you think?
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