Some
reviews:
Would
you like to write your own review? Send us an e-mail and we'll publish
it here
A
long, winding 'Road' by Jeffrey M. Anderson. Published in The Examiner.
It's
appropriate that Tom Hanks plays a character called Sullivan in "Road
to Perdition."
Hanks
is a lot like the main character in Preston Sturges' "Sullivan's
Travels" (1941). John Sullivan is a talented filmmaker of comedies
who decides to make something "important," something about
truth and suffering for the common man. But Sullivan discovers that
the common man already knows more than he wants to about truth and suffering.
He needs something to make him laugh more than he needs nobility. Hanks
once gave us an enjoyable comic persona in movies like "Bachelor
Party," "Big" and "Joe vs. the Volcano." And
even when the films didn't succeed, -"The Man with One Red Shoe,"
"The Money Pit," "Turner and Hooch"-, Hanks came
away unscathed. Then he decided to do something "important."
Who can blame him, with the way the establishment treats film comedy?
(When he was nominated for Best Actor in 1988 for "Big," he
lost to the stammering, ticky Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man.")
He played a non-threatening AIDS patient in "Philadelphia"
and won an Oscar. He won again for the "Rain Man"-like "Forrest
Gump" -- perhaps the worst film ever made.
But
comedians aren't supposed to be successful at drama. Chaplin, W.C Fields
and Jerry Lewis tried it, failed, and got back to what they were born
to do. But Hanks somehow succeeded, and with shaky material: "Apollo
13," "Saving Private Ryan," "The Green Mile"
and "Cast Away." The films might just as well have come stamped
with a golden "pre-approved for Oscar consideration."
Now
Hanks is back with another. "Road to Perdition" is being marketed
as a "very important picture" when it's nothing more than
a slightly above-average gangster flick. It's not even as good as "The
Godfather Part III," much less the original "Godfather."
Based
on a graphic novel by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner, "Road
to Perdition" marks director Sam Mendes' follow-up to his Oscar-winning
"American Beauty." Fortunately for Mendes, legendary cinematographer
Conrad L. Hall was available to pull his fat out of the sophomore slump
fire.
Hall's
so good, he often takes picture over from a director, like in 1967's
"In Cold Blood." He's done it again here. "Road to Perdition"
is as beautiful a film as you'll see this year.
Unfortunately,
the screenplay by David Self ("The Haunting" and "Thirteen
Days") contains more than a few holes. And the unstoppable tidal
wave of a musical score by Thomas Newman overwhelms nearly every scene.
Hanks
plays Mike Sullivan, a mob hitman who wears a haunted, sad look and
has a wife and two kids to support. And even though mob boss John Rooney
(Paul Newman) took in the orphaned Sullivan and raised him as his own,
Sullivan remains in an on-again/off-again competition with Rooney's
blood son, Connor (Daniel Craig).
When
Sullivan and Connor have a talk with one of their disgruntled colleagues,
Connor hauls off and kills him. Unfortunately for Sullivan, his young
son Michael (Tyler Hoechlin) witnessed the murder.
Connor
can't let it go. After a big "company" meeting, Connor sends
Sullivan out on an errand designed to eliminate Sullivan; meanwhile,
Connor will wipe out the wife and kids.
Both
missions end up in failure; Mike Senior and Junior survive. Together
they hit the road, attempting to avoid a cocky hitman (Jude Law) who
photographs his kills. They decide to rob dirty mob money from banks
all over Chicago before suddenly stumbling onto an accountant who has
evidence against Connor.
The
main problem with the plot is the original errand on which Connor sends
Sullivan. Connor slips him an envelope to be delivered to an underworld
maven: "Rooney forgot to give you this," he says. Sullivan
must know Connor's a loose cannon -- why would he trust him and not
check with the big boss first? If alarm bells are going off for the
audience, shouldn't the cagey Sullivan be equally suspicious? Even if
you buy that, the movie's ending couldn't be more clearly telegraphed;
a scene that's meant to shock comes dead on arrival.
While
"American Beauty" was so fun, and had terrific, infectious
performances, we may have proclaimed Mendes an interesting director
prematurely. Mendes does get a mostly fine performance out of Hanks
-- a deliciously understated Clint Eastwood-stoic act, though the actor's
typical yelping and emoting break through a few times. Newman does a
beautiful job with a hint of an Irish accent and all the joy and pain
in the world on his shoulders.
Jude
Law invents some great bits of business for himself, too. But the potent,
passionate Jennifer Jason Leigh has never been more wasted in the "wife"
role. (The most she gets to do is wash the dishes.)
While
"American Beauty" had a personality of its own, it's clear
here that Hall, not Mendes, is responsible for the majority of the picture.
Every shot comes with his signature. Hall's wonderful moments include
a shootout on a dark, rainy street with no sound at all, and an offscreen
hit in a bathtub we see only after a mirrored door swings over to reveal
it.
The
entire film is bathed in snow and rain and darkness, giving us a tangible
feel of space and time. (Another recent film based on a graphic novel,
"From Hell," had this attribute.) It's a movie future cinematographers
should study.
Ultimately,
the movie's a patchwork. Hall and Newman do their very best work, Mendes
and Self don't try hard enough, and Hanks is in the middle -- or perhaps
in the wrong movie altogether. Couldn't we switch Hanks with, say, Robert
DeNiro in "Analyze That"? Wouldn't that improve both movies?
It's
true, "Road to Perdition" does display greatness, and it's
worth seeing. But it also comes with the laziness and arrogance of a
thing that already knows it's won -- like the hare executing the tortoise
and not bothering to cross the finish line.
ROAD
TO PERDITION (2002)
By
Victoria Alexander. Published in Films In Review.com
It's
slow - very, very slow. It's not the ultimate Depression-era gangster
movie. That's pure PR hype. It is beautiful to look at with director
Sam Mendes's theatrical attention to set design elevating the atmospheric
mood. The failure of ROAD TO PERDITION lies in the pace and the main
characters that are one-dimensional and lack introspection - we need
to know in some way why characters do what they do.
ROAD
TO PERDITION starts off wrong. It uses THE DEER HUNTER opening - instead
of a Polish wedding we have an Irish wake with eulogies and enforcer
Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) and crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman)
playing piano together. Rooney is a powerful crime boss who raised Sullivan
like a son, alienating his resentful son Connor (Daniel Craig). Sullivan
is a distant husband to petrified Annie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and stern
father to 12 year-old Michael Jr (Tyler Hoechlin) and younger son Peter.
When we first see Michael Jr he's stealing candy. He's curious about
why his father has a gun and what he does for a living. Michael Jr sneaks
out one night and witnesses his father and Connor kill a lot of people.
Michael Jr promises not to tell anyone what he witnessed, but Connor
decides the boy can't be trusted. Instead of killing Sullivan and Michael
Jr, professional hit man Connor carelessly fails to notice that only
Annie and Peter are at home. He kills them and leaves. Sullivan plans
on revenge. Through an intermediary, Rooney offers Sullivan $25,000
in cash (a huge fortune in the 1930s) and the suggestion to leave the
country. Sullivan refuses the money and goes to Chicago to see Rooney's
boss Frank Nitti (Stanley Tucci) and asks for a job - after he kills
Connor. Nitti tells Sullivan he can't help him and then hires Maguire
(Jude Law), a rogue hit man, to handle the problem. Father and son start
robbing banks, but only taking the money held by the bankers for the
crime bosses.If this is really a story about a father and son, then
the filmmakers don't have children. Now on the run to an aunt's house
in Perdition, Sullivan should start talking hard facts. Michael Jr does
tell his father its all his fault and it is. Sullivan tells him it's
not his fault. Well then, who is to blame?What made Sullivan a ruthless
killer? What does he want for his sons? Why is Rooney so blindly devoted
to Connor?
Jude
Law brings a fascinating, sadistic glee to his small, pivotal role as
a hit man who enjoys photographing dead, and near dead, people. He's
framed his best work. Daniel Craig also takes full advantage of his
scenes to relate emotions not verbalized. Even Newman uses his small
frame and aged, angular face to convey a life marred with brutal decisions.
He's one character we don't expect moral clarification from.Hanks has
a difficult role here: Is he a killer who values family above all else?
Well, we don't see much evidence of a happy family life to support this
and the bond between father and son is noticeably dismal. While we don't
expect a hit man to get teary and weep, the script forces Hanks to play
Sullivan with no colorations.
When
we want to get all puffed-up in lofty cinematic jargon, around my house
we say: The role had no "character arc."
Activities
for EOI students
1st
and 2nd year:
Read
the following comments about the film and fill in the spaces with the
words given.
"Road
to Perdition" is __(1)__ on a novel written by Max Allan Collins
and Richard Piers Rayner. The film was directed by Sam Mendes, __(2)__
also directed Oscar-winning "American Beauty." __(3)__ of
the actors in the film include Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Daniel Craig,
Jude Law and Tyler Hoechlin.
Hanks
__(4)__ the character of Mike Sullivan, a mob hitman who most of the
time has a sad look and has a wife and two __(5)__ to support. His boss
in the organization John Rooney (played by Paul Newman) took in the
orphaned Sullivan and raised him as __(6)__ own child, but Sullivan
remains in a constant competition with Rooney's blood son, Connor (played
by Daniel Craig).
When
Sullivan and Connor __(7)__ a conversation with one of their unhappy
colleagues, Connor gets very angry and kills __(8)__. Unfortunately
for Sullivan, his young son Michael (Tyler Hoechlin) was a witness the
murder.
But
Connor couldn't let this happen. After a big "company" meeting,
Connor sends Sullivan out on a mission that was __(9)__ designed to
eliminate him. Meanwhile, Connor will kill the __(10)__ and the children,
but both missions didn't end up in the way they had been planned.
BASED
HAVE HIM HIS KIDS PLAYS REALLY SOME WHO WIFE
3rd,
4th and 5th year:
Read
the first review by Jeffrey M. Anderson and indicate what his opinion
is about the following aspects in the film. Try to express the critic's
ideas in your own words.
Tom
Hanks's performance in films like "Bachelor Party," "Big"
and "Joe vs. the Volcano."
The attempts of actors like Charles Chaplin, Jerry Lewis or W.C. Fields
to act in drama films.
A comparison between "Road to Perdition" and "Godfather
III".
The screenplay by David Self.
The use of music in the film.
A comparison between "American Beauty" and "Road to Perdition",
both directed by Sam Mendes.
The job of Sam Mendes directing Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law and
Jennifer Jason Leigh in the film.
The role Conrad L. Hall played in the film.
An overall estimation of the film.
The second review, by Victoria Alexander, is much more critical. What
are the main weaknesses of the film according to the critic?
