Barnes & Noble

Unquestionably one of 2002’s best films, this Depression-era crime drama demonstrates yet again that erstwhile sitcom star Tom Hanks is one of Hollywood’s finest actors. It also vindicates the judgment of critics who maintain that Sam Mendes (American Beauty) is among the most talented directors working today. Based on a graphic novel written by detective-story scribe Max Allen Collins, Perdition begins in a small midwestern city where Michael Sullivan (Hanks) works as an enforcer for his adopted father, Irish gangster John Rooney (Paul Newman). When Sullivan’s son, Mike Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin), witnesses one of his father’s killings on Rooney’s behalf, the gangster decides that his ward and his family are liabilities that must be removed. Mendes, working from a script that considerably expands on the Collins story, tells several stories simultaneously; the plot principally revolves around Sullivan’s efforts to safeguard his son and get even with the man who betrayed him, but it also focuses on the boy’s efforts to bond with his emotionally distant father, and in a tertiary sense it’s about the internal conflicts of a lawbreaking man governed by his own peculiar code of honor while functioning in a hopelessly corrupt and amoral societal structure. Mendes eschews flashy visual effects and quick cutting in favor of elegantly composed shots and subtle camera moves. This directorial restraint is carried over to the performances, which are mostly understated (Hanks, for example, suggests far more than he shows, forcing viewers to use their imaginations). The one exception is Jude Law, whose turn as a hired assassin is delightfully eccentric and over-the-top. Road to Perdition could have been a florid, melodramatic shoot-’em-up, but Mendes's inspired direction and the solidly grounded performances of Hanks and Newman made it something very special. This is a film viewers will want to see many times. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

The acclaimed graphic novel from crime writer Max Allan Collins becomes this big budget Dreamworks drama from director Sam Mendes and screenwriter David Self. Tom Hanks stars as Michael Sullivan, a morally conflicted Depression-era hit man committing murder in the name of his employer, John Rooney (Paul Newman). A kindly, aging Irish crime boss who raised Sullivan as his surrogate son, Rooney is affiliated with Al Capone in Chicago and thus wields great power in the "Tri-Cities" of Moline, IL; Rock Island, IL; and Davenport, IA. Curious about his father's mysterious profession, Sullivan's son, Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin), stows away in his father's automobile one night and witnesses the execution of a man at the hands of Sullivan and Rooney's biological son, Connor (Daniel Craig). Although Michael keeps his promise to remain silent about what he's seen, the paranoid and unstable Connor tries to wipe out the entire Sullivan clan anyway, succeeding only in killing Sullivan's wife, Annie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and youngest son, Peter (Liam Aiken). Enraged at this and another surprise betrayal by the Rooneys, Sullivan embarks on a path of bloody retribution, Michael in tow. Although he intends to leave his boy with relatives in the rural town of Perdition once the coast is clear, he ends up exposing Michael to the goriest aspects of his talents, slaughtering former associates as he dodges contract assassin Maguire (Jude Law) and cripples the cash flow of the Rooney and Capone organizations through a series of bank robberies, attempting to force either mob family to offer up the sequestered Connor as a sacrifice. Inspired by the popular Japanese comic book series Lone Wolf and Cub and based loosely on an episode from the life and career of notorious real-life crime figures John and Connor Looney, Road to Perdition co-stars Stanley Tucci as legendary Chicago mobster Frank Nitti. Karl Williams

New York Times

It inspires a continuing and deeply satisfying awareness of the best movies as monumental 'picture shows.' Stephen Holden

San Francisco Chronicle

Directed by Sam Mendes, this movie might not be as flashy as his Oscar-winning American Beauty, but it's a smarter film, more mature and emotionally honest. Mick LaSalle

New York Observer

A rare and exemplary work of artistry and humanity that makes you think while it unfolds like the haunting pages of a novel you never want to end. Rex Reed

Product Details

• UPC: 678149036428
• Source: DREAMWORKS VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound
• Time: 1:57:00
• Sales Rank: 8,733

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