`Road to Perdition' is a gangster movie. Tom Hanks is Michael Sullivan, a gangster working for John Rooney (Paul Newman). He has a nice little family where the kids are unaware of what daddy does for a living, despite some homely moments where they question him. Unfortunately one of his sons, Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin), sees him on the job. Rooney is worried what this might do if Michael Jr. spills the beans. what happens next! Go see the movie!
Firstly credit to Hanks. About time he tried a character with more grit as opposed to the lily-livered roles he normally adopts. He works quite well as an efficient murderer whose only true love is his family (whom he has grown distant from - what do you think the chances are that he gets closer over the movie as he learns a valuable moral lesson?) He's not 100% convincing - he looks too charming - but he almost gets there. Hoechlin, as the young frightened son, is quite good and Newman fits into his role as sad, old, man with aplomb. No problems with the cast here..
However Mr. Script has a lot to answer for. How are you doing Mr. Script? You're a bit obvious and cliché ridden aren't you? Perhaps this is because of the movie's graphic novel roots, but I felt let down here. The ending, for example, is heavy-handed and extremely obvious to any casual viewers of cinema. The moralising and family values segments are too limp and uninspired - there's only one inevitable course of action and that's the root the film takes. There's also the anvil-subtlety of the dual meaning of the film's title. While the actors do good jobs with their parts, their characters are often feeling a bit flat, trying to add depth solely through a tenuous `family' thread that runs in the movie. It means there's a lack of suspense in the movie and that's not good.
What is good is Mendes direction. In fact it's very good. There's one particular scene, towards the end of the movie (so I can't reveal it), where there is a superb use of lighting and sound to highlight a particularly eventful moment. The movie - it's a periodical - looks the part throughout, with good costumes and scenery. There's some nice directorial touches in the movie (corridor viewpoints, etc.) and Mendes once more has a beautiful score that recalls his work on `American Beauty' (well it would - same composer). The pacing is generally spot on, and there's no real flaws here that I could detect that upset me from a production point of view.
So `Road to Perdition' stands out because it's made nicely. If it had had a better script than it did, it would have been a very good movie. As it is, the forced characters and thin plotting lets it down. Still one of the best of the crop in a very weak year for movies. 7.0/10.
Firstly credit to Hanks. About time he tried a character with more grit as opposed to the lily-livered roles he normally adopts. He works quite well as an efficient murderer whose only true love is his family (whom he has grown distant from - what do you think the chances are that he gets closer over the movie as he learns a valuable moral lesson?) He's not 100% convincing - he looks too charming - but he almost gets there. Hoechlin, as the young frightened son, is quite good and Newman fits into his role as sad, old, man with aplomb. No problems with the cast here..
However Mr. Script has a lot to answer for. How are you doing Mr. Script? You're a bit obvious and cliché ridden aren't you? Perhaps this is because of the movie's graphic novel roots, but I felt let down here. The ending, for example, is heavy-handed and extremely obvious to any casual viewers of cinema. The moralising and family values segments are too limp and uninspired - there's only one inevitable course of action and that's the root the film takes. There's also the anvil-subtlety of the dual meaning of the film's title. While the actors do good jobs with their parts, their characters are often feeling a bit flat, trying to add depth solely through a tenuous `family' thread that runs in the movie. It means there's a lack of suspense in the movie and that's not good.
What is good is Mendes direction. In fact it's very good. There's one particular scene, towards the end of the movie (so I can't reveal it), where there is a superb use of lighting and sound to highlight a particularly eventful moment. The movie - it's a periodical - looks the part throughout, with good costumes and scenery. There's some nice directorial touches in the movie (corridor viewpoints, etc.) and Mendes once more has a beautiful score that recalls his work on `American Beauty' (well it would - same composer). The pacing is generally spot on, and there's no real flaws here that I could detect that upset me from a production point of view.
So `Road to Perdition' stands out because it's made nicely. If it had had a better script than it did, it would have been a very good movie. As it is, the forced characters and thin plotting lets it down. Still one of the best of the crop in a very weak year for movies. 7.0/10.