Road to Perdition
Made: 2002
Cast: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Tyler Hoechlin, Daniel Craig, Jude Law
Director: Sam Mendes
Cinematographer: Conrad L. Hall
Screenplay: David Self
Road to Perdition is the movie that got me thinking about movies. I'm sure its different for everyone, but everybody has some current movie for them that they go see and it changes them in some way. For me, it got me thinking about casting actors, odd camera angles, uses of silence and music, and difficult subject matter done in an interesting way. I went into this movie as an 18 year old who thought owning movies was stupid and watching a movie more than once was a waste of time, to wanting to learn everything I could about the them! Like rock music which I had a similar epiphany of a couple of years before, I wanted to know just why Road to Perdition seemed better to me than, say, Men in Black 2 or Spider Man. This being the case, I admit I am probably biased towards this movie in a way and also when I recently watched it for this review it was hard to shed new light on something I used to watch over and over.
In all, the movie is a tale of brutal revenge. A man sees his family torn apart over a selfish act by his mob boss's son and has to make amends the only way he knows how. Tom Hanks plays Michael Sullivan as a man who knows violence begats violence but knows no real solution for this problem, only that he doesn’t want his son Michael (Tyler Hoechlin) to follow in his footsteps. Fathers and sons are the other focal point of the film, With Paul Newman and Daniel Craig playing the "evil" ones, the Rooney family, and Hanks and Hoechlin playing the "good" ones. Jude Law plays an odd villain that has no father to speak of, and one can see what the movie has to say about what happens to people who grow up like that. Revenge fuels all of these men to do unspeakable acts.
On the surface, there are many cliches that play out in RTP: guys on the run turned to bank robbers, who only rob from the rich and corrupt, prohibition era Al Capone type gang members, etc. Its an odd hybrid of Paper Moon (1973), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), and I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang(1932). Beneath the surface there are stylistic touches and buried themes that propel the movie to greatness, perhaps the greatest of all gangster and revenge films. It is not impossible to do something new with an established genre, and RTP does just that; it twists the knife just a liiitle bit more. There is a way to survive without killing and stealing, but it’s all Hanks knows, so it plays as critic Roger Ebert has stated- like a Greek tragedy.
The actors are great all around, with some minor roles being played to great effect by Carian Hinds, Jude Law, Stanley Tucci and Daniel Craig. These three actors would come to dominate key roles in big budget movies for the next decade. It also played around with roles of established stars Hanks, Newman, and Dylan Baker. The former two do some of their best work ever in the "family blood matters" kind of conflict that happens. Hanks acts more like a son to Rooney but he is not really a son, a point almost hammered into the ground I admit. Not going unnoticed is Jenifer Jason Leigh and Liam Aiken as the extended Sullivan family. Looking back and watching this movie ten years later, its amazing the talent assembled for this not-so-flashy period piece. Most of this cast had a trajectory shift with this movie.
What makes a movie great is not just its cast, but also its makers. Screenplay, Cinematography, and Director were just words to me before I wanted to know what they meant. David Self writes the movie with not just a well-tuned knowledge of 1930's era staples, but also insight into the subtleties of people’s minds (he also wrote the gripping Thirteen Days(2000)). Conrad L Hall, whom the movie is dedicated to because it was his last, gives it a touch all his own, culminating in the final silent film-like shoot out. Hall's other work also evokes vivid images that haunt you forever (Butch Cassidy, Cool Hand Luke, In Cold Blood, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Marathon Man, etc.); he may have been the greatest cinematographer of the last 50 years.
Last but hardly least, Sam Mendes proves he is not a fluke after the best picture/director win in 1999 for American Beauty with this movie. Mendes has proven himself to be a genius of stylistic translation, giving movies a personal makeover like he did to gangster genre in Road to Perdition: war movies with Jarhead (2005), marriage on the rocks with Revolutionary Road (2008), pregnancy and comedy with Away We Go (2009), and even James Bond with Skyfall (2012). Mendes’ movies are becoming clearer what they are about- a deeply rooted pain, so complex it can only be hinted at, but seeing that though all kinds of people in different time periods and walks of life. His films are a dose of the pessimistic kind, but very powerful. Mendes transforms well-known archetypes to his own personal vision, like every great director should.
What Road to Perdition proves above all is that talent makes great movies. When character actors and veterans get into the mix, great things are made. Ambition and originality is important, but its not everything; quality is everything. Road to Perdition is one of the best made movies ever assembled. Like, say, a recent creation like Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, it proves how good a traditional story can be. I have gone back to watch older examples of gangster films and very few measure up to the quality of Road to Perdition. Even though I have seen it over a dozen times, it is still a wonder to behold. I hope everyone can have the epiphany I had when I first saw this movie ten years ago, and I believe they can, just keep trying new things!