Road to Perdition
BECAUSE IT so stylishly touches on all the themes that we expect from a gangster movie, Road to Perdition could easily be mistaken for a great work of art. But despite fine performances, cinematography and editing, the film is actually fairly shallow and predictable.
Like many films in this genre, it raises moral dilemmas and cloaks them in religious symbols; but unlike some of the better films that preceded it, Road to Perdition does not explore these themes in any depth.
That's a shame, since the film is based on a graphic novel by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner which explicitly grapples with questions of salvation and forgiveness.
And although it is obviously fictitious, the story is firmly rooted in the real-life history of Chicago mobster Al Capone and the bosses who worked for him, especially an Irish-American gangster named John Looney.
Despite its origins, the film, written by David Self (who also wrote the excellent Cuban Missile Crisis thriller Thirteen Days) and directed by Sam Mendes, comes across like a superficial regurgitation of other gangster movies. It distances itself even further from the novel's historical roots and makes cursory use, at best, of its religious symbols.
The film stars Tom Hanks as an enforcer named Michael Sullivan, who works for a mob boss named John Rooney (Paul Newman) in the early '30s. The two men are not related genetically, but they regard each other as father and son; and they get along so well that they can sit down at a piano, during a wake for one of their colleagues, and improvise a duet.
Rooney has a son of his own, but Connor (Daniel Craig) is a disappointment -- a vindictive, hot-tempered man whose murderous instincts interfere with the family business. Rooney cannot disown Connor, but he does shame him before the other gangsters when he fouls up; and this, coupled with Rooney's love for Michael, makes Connor jealous and resentful.
Michael himself has two sons, one of whom, also named Michael (Tyler Hoechlin), sneaks a ride in the car late one night to see what his dad does for a living -- and thus, he witnesses his first murder. Rooney believes the boy can keep this terrible secret to himself; but Connor takes matters into his own hands and tries to kill the two Sullivans, forcing them to flee for their lives.
On one level, gangster films are power fantasies; and the revenge sought by Michael Sr., after the Rooneys turn against him, appeals to our felt need to get back at those who hurt us. Michael also wants to save his son from becoming a killer like him, and I think many fathers can identify with the regret Michael Sr. feels at what he has become, and with his desire to see his son live a better life.
However, director Mendes does not bring anything new to these worthy old themes. As with his last film, American Beauty, Mendes treats his material with heavy-handed seriousness and frames it in aesthetically pleasing images; but he doesn't seem to realize that he isn't saying anything new, or that what he does say is ultimately both obvious and trite.
Gangster films can be powerful reminders of our fallen humanity. But Road to Perdition is too fatalistic; repentance and redemption don't seem to be options for these criminals. When Michael Sr. accuses Rooney of being a murderer, Rooney replies, "There are only murderers in this room, Michael. . . . And there is only one guarantee: none of us will see heaven."
In his review, Roger Ebert said the difference between Road to Perdition and The Godfather is the difference between Greek and Shakespearean tragedy: the Greeks did not believe in free will, while Shakespeare did. Road to Perdition is an expertly crafted film, but it lacks an awareness of human freedom and God's grace. For a film which makes explicit allusions to Christian beliefs, it could have done better.
-- Peter T. Chattaway
Internet Movie Database | Movie Review Query Engine
USA: R | BC: 14A | ON: AA
