69. Road to Perdition

Sam Mendes, 2002

“None of us will ever see heaven.”

Road to Perdition is a strikingly beautiful film. It is the story of a mob killer named Michael Sullivan, played by Tom Hanks, who takes his son, Michael Jr., on the run after his boss’ son kills his wife and youngest child. The boss is John Rooney, an unquestioned criminal power played by Paul Newman. Michael and Michael Jr. bond on the road as they look for safety, enact a sort of financial revenge on Rooney, and evade Harlen Maguire, a photographer/assassin played to perfection by Jude Law. The story itself can be a little predictable, but is ultimately pretty touching. Really, though, this film shines in two big places. The first is acting. Director Sam Mendes has assembled a truly fantastic cast for his second film. Tom Hanks headlines and while its been a while since he left comedy for more dramatic roles, this is his first real turn as an anti-hero. He is, after all, a killer. Still, Hanks is terrific. He has the father figure aspects of the plot down and you really buy his love for not only Michael Jr., but for the wife and child he lost. He also exhibits a deep, even palpable, emotional connection to his surrogate father figure, Rooney himself. Rooney is an interesting character. He is both mob boss and devout Catholic. One of the film’s most memorable scenes involves Rooney deep in prayer at church when confronted by Michael. What Rooney reminds Michael of is that they are both killers and that, because of what they do and the choices they’ve made, the only thing they can be sure of is that neither will reach heaven. To have a man who is so clearly devout take a job which is so sure to end in perdition itself and to have him both know and acknowledge it is really a terrific thing. It’s a complex aspect of the mob/Catholicism connection that is simply ignored all too often. Of course, Newman is incredible in the role. Despite being about 107, he exudes a power and authority unseen in most actors in the prime of their youths. Jude Law is also a lot of fun, playing an early sort of psychopath.

The other place this film really excels is in the cinematography. Sadly, this was the last film Conrad Hall shot before he died. Among Hall’s other films are such classics as American Beauty, director Sam Mendes’ first film, Marathon Man, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Cool Hand Luke, but, of all his films, Road to Perdition stands in my mind as his greatest achievement. From the opening snow covered scenes to the haunting beach house conclusion, this film, for me, illustrates the art of the cinematographer like no other. I’m not really sure what else to say about Hall or his contribution here except that I would have loved to see what he had in store next. I’m a big fan of his work on American Beauty and was hoping that he and Mendes would team once again. This year saw the release of Mendes’ latest film, Jarhead, but, sadly, the trailers show none of the visual beauty evidenced in even the earliest shots from Perdition. Ultimately, Conrad Hall has become who I think of when I think of cinematography and while there are films which I think look even better than this, those opening shots of Michael Jr. riding his bicycle through enormous snow drifts will always stay with me.