Road to Perdition might be the first movie centered around the bond between a father and son set to the tune of the old Irish mob. Set in an early 1930s Midwest, the tale is that of two Michael Sullivans, father and son, and their burgeoning relationship on the road while being chased by the very family who embraced them in the first place.
Since they can remember, little Michael Sullivan (Tyler Hoechlin) and his littler brother have never quite figured out what it is their father, Michael Sullivan, Sr., (Tom Hanks), does for a living. Such questions are forever discouraged in the house. It's best not to know. But young Michael's curiosity gets the best of him, and he decides to sneak out of the house and hideaway in his dad's car as he drives out into the night to do, well, whatever it is he does. Young Michael's curiosity is quelled when he surreptitiously witnesses his father (and another man) whack a few guys in a warehouse.
Being a lone witness to a mob murder is never good in movies, even if you are the son of the lead character. Bad things will come your way. In both Michaels' case, your wife/mother and son/brother get murdered in a botched attempt to kill off the entire family. That way, Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig) doesn't have to lose sleep hoping you won't tell anyone about the unfortunate whacking you saw.
From that point, both Michael Sullivans, stripped of family, friends, and nearly everything else, go on the run to save their lives, and seek vengeance. The Rooney family has other plans, like hiring a despicably irksome hitman (Jude Law) to hunt them down. From there, the cat and mouse chase begins, and it is quite good.
Throughout the chase, Michael Jr. and Sr. grow close while successfully maintaining that distance found between fathers and their first-borns. One of the great moments is when Michael Sr. teaches his son how to drive, which, although commonplace in most father/son movies, has a more unique tinge to it under the unique circumstances; those being that he's teaching his son how to operate the vehicle in order to be his getaway driver during bank robberies. The bank robbery montage that follows is a great example of Sam Mendes's direction, and shows us yet again why working with Thomas Newman, the film's composer, is one of the best partnerships in Hollywood.
It's a blunt movie though; it does anything but tiptoe through dialogue and plot points. “Forced” is probably the best descriptor. As great as the movie looks, and as well acted as it is, what would have been subtle nuances to indicate distress in one character or aggravation in another take a turn to the unrealistic. Perhaps it is because it is based off a graphic novel, and characters in comics usually have only those little word bubbles to complete their thoughts, or a frame or two to flaunt an expression. People in this film cut through the fog too sharply. From the frazzled way Mrs. Sullivan reacts to Michael Sullivan Sr. arriving home from work, to the stilted awkwardness of a piano duet out of left field by Michael Sullivan Sr. and John Rooney (Paul Newman). It doesn't work with Sam Mendes's slow and thorough style, where he seems to let every shot take an extra breath before the cut. It'll do you well to watch any of his movies with an extra ounce of patience, but when reactions and plot points are thrown at you with superfluous gusto, the enjoyment that comes from watching with patience is a tad sullied.
I've seen this movie on DVD and Blu-ray, and, without shock, the latter is much superior. He and his cinematographer, Conrad Hall, (about whom you can learn plenty in the special features), visually knock it out of the park. Any Sam Mendes fan will like this. He and the mafia genre mix well. It's too bad he didn't use his energy to direct a different one, but Road to Perdition definitely makes the cut.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
There's an introduction to the feature by Sam Mendes, which is kind of pointless. He just gushes about how totally sweet the Blu-ray edition is. There's a featurette called “A Cinematic Life: The Art & Influence of Conrad Hall” which is all about the late Conrad Hall, the cinematographer, and his immense portfolio of film work. There's an interactive part called “The Library: A Further Exploration of the World of Road to Perdition,” wherein you can click on different “pages” of information, and get some trivia on different topics. Kind of cool if you have a fast-working Blu-ray player; somehow I obtained the only Blu-ray player made by Fisher Price, and has a pretty slow load time, so this part of the extras is bothersome to go through. Along with a good making-of featurette, there's also the theatrical trailer thrown in and some deleted scenes.
"Road to Perdition" is on sale August 3, 2010 and is rated R. Adventure, Crime, Drama. Directed by Sam Mendes. Written by David Self (screenplay), Max Allan Collins (graphic novel), Richard Piers Rayner (graphic novel). Starring Daniel Craig, Jude Law, Paul Newman, Tom Hanks, Tyler Hoechlin.
