Road to Perdition (2002)

Road to Perdition: Directed by Sam Mendes. With Tyler Hoechlin, Rob Maxey, Liam Aiken, Jennifer Jason Leigh. A mob enforcer’s son witnesses a murder, forcing him and his father to take to the road, and his father down a path of redemption and revenge.

“`Road to Perditionu0026#39; is a rocky road of revenge and reconciliation, punctuated by some gorgeous Conrad Hall cinematography. Tom Hanks is a 1930u0026#39;s mob hit man whose 12 year-old son sees him commit a murder. The rest of Director Sam Mendesu0026#39; (`American Beautyu0026#39;) film is the boyu0026#39;s coming to terms with that knowledge. Paul Newman plays a `godfather,u0026#39; a father to his errant son and like a father to Hanks.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLaced throughout are 3 father-son relationships, which seem to move toward the violent ends reserved for mobsters. Hanksu0026#39; son is ambivalent about his dad, whom he seems to adore yet hold accountable for his crimes. Newmanu0026#39;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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis 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 Perditionu0026#39; lacks the grandeur of Coppolau0026#39;s `Godfatheru0026#39; 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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHanksu0026#39; son learns about morality and decides about following in his fatheru0026#39;s footsteps. Hanks gives another controlled performance, and Paul Newman lets us know there is room for one more powerful screen godfather.”