Les sentiers de la perdition

I f you thought Sam Mendes' first film, the much heralded American BEAUTY was a movie with style to spare, wait until you see his highly anticipated second effort, the unrelentingly grim 30's gangster melodrama ROAD TO PERDITION. Some critics have hailed this new movie as a worthy successor to THE GODFATHER, a rash judgment made by several reviewers taken with Mr. Mendes' extraordinary technical prowess. If the mechanics of movie making are what make a picture great, then yes, ROAD TO PERDITION is a distant cousin to THE GODFATHER in terms of what it achieves in cinematography, editing, music scoring and sound. What it doesn't have is a resonance that all great stories and some very rare movies have that stay with the viewer long after the experience of reading or seeing it is over. As with American BEAUTY, there is a cold, distancing feel to this movie, despite some very tense scenes involving paternal love, loyalty and betrayal.

This story of a hit man (Tom Hanks) and his relationship to a surrogate father - figure who is also his boss, an elderly Irish mob leader (Paul Newman) , seems to have been culled from innumerable gangster movies of years past. The father /son motif that hangs over this picture is so heavy handed in its treatment that there is not much room for spontaneity ; the entire enterprise has been very carefully wrought , and nearly all the dialog is delivered with an air of great portent : this is obviously a gangster film , hence the requisite amount of violence and bloodshed , but the film is nearly devoid of any humor to speak of ; only in scenes involving a young boy driving a getaway car in a cunningly edited montage is there any sense of lightheartedness to leaven the pervasive sense of doom.

That being said , I have nothing but the highest praise for the stunning look of this film ; indeed , it is not an overstatement to say that this is one of the most beautifully photographed and designed movies I have ever seen. Veteran cameraman Conrad Hall will very likely win another Oscar for his work here . The production 's sets and costumes are just as exemplary ; in fact , the entire film is a technical marvel. Mr. Mendes continues to astonish with his vivid use of color, and he and Mr. Hall again make very dramatic use of red blood splattered against pale colored walls , all the more effective and disconcerting due to the preponderance of blacks, blues and grays that dominate the movie's color scheme.

If I have failed to duly note the acting , it is not because the actors do not purport themselves ably ; everyone in the film is top notch, with special mention going to the two malevolent bad guys : Daniel Craig is the classic "man you love to hate", the spoiled, impulsive son of Newman's gangster father ; and an almost unrecognizable Jude Law as an especially slimy miscreant who goes on pursuit of Hanks and his son and figures very importantly in the film's riveting second half. But acting in a movie this dazzling is bound to take a back seat to the photographic fireworks on display here. If a Rolls-Royce was a movie , I've no doubt it would look like ROAD TO PERDITION.

`Road to Perdition' is a rocky road of revenge and reconciliation, punctuated by some gorgeous Conrad Hall cinematography. Tom Hanks is a 1930's mob hit man whose 12 year-old son sees him commit a murder. The rest of Director Sam Mendes' (`American Beauty') film is the boy's coming to terms with that knowledge. Paul Newman plays a `godfather,' a father to his errant son and like a father to Hanks.

Laced throughout are 3 father-son relationships, which seem to move toward the violent ends reserved for mobsters. Hanks' son is ambivalent about his dad, whom he seems to adore yet hold accountable for his crimes. Newman's son is like Sonny Corleone, too loose to be in charge and no heir apparent; Hanks owes his lifestyle to Newman-all these relationships are subsumed by the business needs of the larger organization.

This is noir with a dark palette, costuming in clothes metaphorically heavy, and sounding often as stylized and minimal as the murders Hanks commits. `Road to Perdition' lacks the grandeur of Coppola's `Godfather' epic, but it succeeds in evoking an old-testament judicial system where eye meets eye and tooth savages tooth. The revenge motif is too dominant to let the film rest on the promising father-son motif.

Hanks' son learns about morality and decides about following in his father's footsteps. Hanks gives another controlled performance, and Paul Newman lets us know there is room for one more powerful screen godfather.

Road to Perdition is a classed-up mob story about revenge. With a stellar cast and Oscar-winning cinematography, the film is a dark meditation on vengeance and the fate of one's soul. Heavyweights Tom Hanks and Paul Newman anchor this film, with great support from Daniel Craig and Jude Law. This is a brooding film, but I think it does a great job of conveying its more hopeful messages through some stunning photography.

This is a splendid movie which fancies itself a revenger father called Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) , he is right-hand to Mr Rooney (Paul Newman) who has a nasty son (Daniel Craig) . When the mob enforcer's son (Tyler Hoechlin) spies , he's in for a shock and things go wrong . All of them put Sullivan at odds with Rooney who is forced to side with his son , making Sullivan an enemy of the mob . Sullivan then takes action to protect his family and to put an end to the threat . Forcing him and his son on the run and to take to the road . Pray for Michael Sullivan . Every father is a hero to his son . Every son holds the future for his father . The innocence of a son is surpassed only by the father's will to save it.

Based on the dark graphic novel by Max Collins and Richard Piers Rayner adapted faithfully by David Self. Anyone with a fondness for mobster movies will find quite a bit to admire this fabulous film . This is a magnificent picture , except that the yarn turns so much bathetic and extremely sentimental , at times . This thought-provoking material blends comic-strip , a tridimensional kid's eye pastiche and ordinary mobster movie , though remains fundamentally in comic-book wake . Cast is pretty well , giving outstanding acting . Highlighted by Hanks' acting as father down a path of redemption and revenge , though some critics state Tom is fatally miscast . Paul Newman as mob boss and Daniel Craig are good , the latter as the rutlhess partner in crime . Jude Law as the terminally self-conscious hit-man steals of show as a whacked weegee-style photographer . Other prestigious actors appearing are the following ones : Dylan Baker , Ciran Hinds , Jennifer Jason Leigh and Stanley Tucci as Frank Nitti

The film packs a colorful and glimmering cinematography by Conrad Hall , who previously brought American Beauty , to whom the film is dedicated . It was shot in various locations as Grand Rapids, Saugatuck, Zeeland , Michigan , Pullman , Chicago , Geneva , Evanston , Momence , Beecher , Thornton , Illinois . As well as sensitive and rousing musical score by Thomas Newman. Being lavishly produced by Joan Bradshaw , Walter F. Parkes , Dean Zanuck , Richard D. Zanuck and Sam Mendes himself . This gangster picture was well directed by Sam Mendes , though with no originaly . Mendes is a good director who has made some successful films played by important actors , such as : Jarhead , American Beauty , Revolutionary road , this Road to perdition and two Bond movies : Skyfall and Spectre . Rating: 8/10 . Above average. Well worth watching . Essential and indispensable watching .

Conrad Hall went out with a bang. The great film photographer finished his illustrious career with this movie before passing on. He did himself proud as this is one of the best-looking crime films you'll ever see.

Of course, the acting ain't bad when you have Tom Hanks and Paul Newman playing the leads! The amount of action in here is just right, too: not too much; not too little.

None of the characters in here, frankly, are "good guys" as Hanks is a professional hit-man for town boss Newman. Hanks' only redeeming quality is not wanting his young son to wind up a killer like him, although he does teach him how to be the getaway man in robberies! Huh?

As good as the acting is and as interesting as the story is, the real star of this film is cinematographer Hall, who paints scene after beautiful scene with his lens. His work is just awesome.