“Road to Perdition”
“Road to Perdition” – RPaul Newman, Tom Hanks & Jude Law.
DM: For those of you who don’t know, perdition, according to the dictionary, is “utter destruction” and “eternal damnation.” For Hank’s character, Michael Sullivan, the main character in “Road to Perdition,” both descriptions are right on the money.
Michael Sullivan is not your “Forrest Gump,” “Captain Miller” or the lovable oafs that embody Tom Hanks on films like “Sleepless in Seattle” and “You’ve Got Mail.” Nor is it the goofy leader of the “Bachelor Party” or the drunken coach in “A League of There Own” in which Hanks plays the lovable good guy. This is Tom Hanks in the lovable bad guy role of mob-man supreme. That’s quite a difference.
Hanks and Paul Newman, two of the bigger names of the big screen, join to create a visually stunning portrayal of life in the 1930s. A life strife with gangster activity. A life where killing a man for going against the rules is part of a day’s work. A life where violence is so commonplace that after a good day of slaying you go home, kiss the wife and kids, and don’t bother repenting. A life in which you know, despite your fierce commitment to your Catholic faith, that you are indeed bound for a life of eternal damnation.
That is Sullivan’s lot in life, and saving his son fromthat samefate becomes his driving desire.
DT: That is certainly why this film is no ordinary mobster movie. The relationship between the father and son is what makes this film vastly more interesting than it might have been. Indeed the relationships and hierarchies between all of the characters is what makes the story so strong and work so well. It is also why we come to find ourselves on Hank’s side even though we find his occupation repellent. He’s also a father trying to raise a son, trying to set him on a different, better path. Hanks gives his calm, emotionless killer a quiet and stern humanity underneath. He’s not psychotic like Jimmy Cagney in “White Heat.” He’s something we’ve not seen in a gangster film before. Hank’s has truly advanced to acting’ upper echelon.
DM: Yeah. Most guys can learn a lifetime working with a great actor like Newman, but Hanks proves on all fronts that he is the legend’s equal, and the scenes with both guys in it are by far the best of a great movie.
“Perdition” has everything a movie needs to make it a high-quality endeavor: Looks, acting, directing, plot ... the story gets laid out in front of you to just watch and enjoy.
Expecting an audience to side and sympathize with — a gangster hit man is a tough sell. Liking the bad guy in a movie of bad guys is akin to trying to sell Mel Gibson as a likable revenge-driven psycho in “Payback.” It’s just hard to pull off. Yet Hanks does it so matter-of-factly that you almost instantly feel for his emotionless, father figure character.
About the only flaw in the movie is that there is a certain lack of screen time for Jude Law, who has quickly turned into one of the best new actors out there. Law was basically a nobody until “The Talented Mr. Ripley” came along and thrust him into the limelight. “A-I,” — despite some critics disappointments — and “Enemy at the Gates” provided more opportunities for Law to make a name for himself. He carried “A-I” in a supporting role.
Even with too little screen time, Law excels as the man sent to hunt down Sullivan after events unfold that are out of his hands.
There’s a perfect balance between the relationship between Sullivan and his son, Michael Jr. There is the same balance between Sullivan and his father-figure/boss John Rooney (Newman), as Sullivan portrays the son Rooney always wanted — he’s loyal, trustworthy, competent, self-controlled — but instead got stuck with a jerk of a boy he feels he has to love and commit to out of obligation who is at the opposite end of the spectrum on all of the previously listed attributes.
This is a movie along the lines of “Miller’s Crossing,” another gangster flick set in the 30’s that went highly unrecognized, as more popular yet less impressive films like “Goodfellas” grabbed the spotlight. The writing is flawless and the film is visually stunning, albeit a somewhat violent depiction. But then again, they are depicting a violent time in America.
As for those who feel “Perdition” is good enough to grab some Oscar gold, I beg to differ. Not because it isn’t worthy — it is. But because it came out about six months too soon. A shame. It would have been excellent to see Newman take home the “Best Supporting Actor” trophy.