Road To Perdition (2002)

Directed By -  Sam Mendes

Cast - Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Daniel Craig, Jude Law, Tyler Hoechlin

Too many gangster films tends to bore- Says who?, i have already watched 2 in 2 days and i am far from being bored. Before i start i have to say Hollywood has got something about Multi-starers or " Ensemble" casts as they are called in the west., they NEVER seem to get it wrong. Road to Perdition directed by Academy Award winner ( for American Beauty) Sam Mendes is a Father-son cum-Gangster revenge drama. So we have Micheal Sullivan Sr ( Two Time Academy Award Winner Tom Hanks) who is a mob enforcer for Mobster John Rooney (Paul Newman - another Academy Award Winner!) who loves him like his own son and prefers him over his own , ruthless son Connor ( Daniel Craig), during an altercation Connor ends up killing a man and is seen doing so by Sullivan's elder son Micheal Jr ( Tyler Hoechlin), Micheal Sr swears his son to secrecy, but Connor in an attempt to hush the witnessed ends up killing Sullivan's wife and younger son and this paves the , as the title says, road to perdition ( meaning utter distraction).Water serves as a motif in the film, ad its pretty interestingly interwoven in the film.it is essentially linked with death as tom hanks says earlier on in the film " that ice helps preserve the body".Water being linked with death talks about the mutability of water and links it to the uncontrollability of fate. This is the reason why the most intense ( and the best scenes) are shot in the rain.The best scene of the film is undoubtedly the one where Sullivan guns down Rooney with tears in his eyes masked by the heavy rain. This is Cinematography at its best ( No wonder Conrad L Hall is such a legend). Of the cast Tom Hanks is easily the finest of the lot as a gangster whose sole aim in life is to finish off the man who killed his family but in the process rediscovers his relationship with his father. Daniel Craig does well in a small role as the hotheaded Connor ( just like Sonny Corleone), Jude Law as the psychopathic assassin does not have much to do and frankly overacts for the most part, Paul Newman as Mob Boss John Rooney is very restrained (unlike most gangster portrayal's we see) and he takes the Marlon Brando route in portraying a man torn between his son and the one guy he loves the most, Tyler Hoechlin undoubtedly has the most difficult role in the film as a boy who initially has difficulties coming to terms with his father's profession then starts enjoying it and eventually understands that that is what his father had feared the most. The entire Father- Son story is fleshed out beautifully and very naturally so much so that most of us would actually relate with it. Tyler Hoechlin and Tom hanks make this movie what it is ( taking nothing away from Newman).the direction by Sam Mendes is what it should be like, the best quality that Mendes possesses is that he breaks down all his films to the complexities of human nature and brings it out perfectly, trust me when i say this but despite being a gangster film the execution of this one is very similar to American Beauty and his much later Revolutionary Road.Mendes instead of just showing them as gangsters goes deep down and tries to delve deep into their internal complexities. Notice the scene where Newman and Hanks have one final confrontation in the church and you will understand that Mendes has not made a film on gangsters but a film on human beings who just happen to be gangsters and thats where Mendes scores full marks. All in All Road to Perdition is film with natural performances, brilliant camera work and masterful direction

Rating - 9.0/10