"What cinema was made for" (From Western Telegraph)

"What cinema was made for"

The Road To Perdition Directed by Sam Mendes Starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Daniel Craig, Tyler Hoechlin. Cert. 15 Dur. 117 mins

'The Road To Perdition is one of the best films of the year. Britain's own Sam Mendes already had a massive hit with his 'American Beauty', but one classic does not a respectable career make, so Mendes, in a way, had far more to prove with his second film.

'The Road To Perdition' is a gangster story set in 1930. Tom Hanks plays Michael Sullivan, who plays second fiddle to a crime boss called John Rooney (Paul Newman). The problem Sullivan has, is that Rooney has a son (Daniel Craig) who is pure evil and jealous of Sullivan's influence on his father. The mob family is a strange and dysfunctional one, and soon Sullivan is betrayed. He's betrayed by Rooney.

After some messy murders Sullivan is forced to run for his life with his son. They're heading for a town called Perdition, but how long will he survive until his fellow hitmen catch up with him? Is this life better than the 'perdition' that awaits him in the next?

At times certain characters (Jude Law's grimy weirdo hitman especially) don't have the dose of reality to match the poetry of the film. Perhaps casting a few unknowns (or lesser knowns) in parts like Law's may have helped to give that realism. That is the very worst I can say about it and maybe even that is harsh because 'The Road To Perdition' is what cinema was made for! This is not just a crime story. It's a story about how crime effects the 'common-man' psyche and his instincts for good and evil alongside his instincts for parental love and responsibility. The cinematographer, Conrad L. Hall, deserves praise. Hanks struggles to lose his nice guy image but that, for me, only gave more sorrow to his amoral character.

Paul Newman as the head of the family is cold and controlled and capable. Perfect. A legendary film performance perhaps? Time will tell. I also recommend you buy the score by Thomas Newman. You'd probably recognise most of them from TV adverts.

This is undoubtedly one of the best films of 2002 whether it wins an Oscar or not. But being only his second film it hardly bears thinking about what delights are to follow... something in Britain perhaps?