English theatre veteran Sam Mendes' debut movie as a director was the multiple Oscar winning \"American Beauty,\" so the pressure was seriously on when it came to whatever he chose to make as his follow up. \"Road To Perdition\" is a brave choice, a 1930s gangster tale of fathers & sons adapted from a successful graphic novel (that's what the intelligentsia are calling 'comics for grown ups' these days!). Tom Hanks plays the central role of Michael Sullivan, an enforcer for John Rooney, an Irish mob boss who is practically a father to him, played by a brilliantly cast Paul Newman (who looks spookily like his comic book counterpart). When Sullivan is betrayed by Rooney's psychotic son Conner (a suitably menacing Daniel Craig) he is forced to go on the run with his own young son Michael Jr (newcomer Tyler Hoechlin). Beautifully filmed by veteran cinematographer Conrad Hall (who also worked with Mendes on \"American Beauty\"), the film follows father & son Michael and Michael Jr as they set off on the road to Perdition (which is both the name of the small town where the boy's aunt lives, and, ominously, a familiar Catholic term for hell). Although this is a tale of gangsters (we even encounter Al Capone's real life right hand man, played by a curiously bewigged Stanley Tucci) the obligatory violence featured within it never dominates the proceedings, instead it either gives us an insight into particular characters (such as when we first see Sullivan at work, and when we meet Jude Law's photographer\/assassin) or pushes the plot along. This then is a character driven tale that, while it might be perceived as too slow moving by some popcorn munching blockbuster fans, will draw the more discerning cinema goer in from its opening scene, and will ensure you leave the auditoria two hours later with a number of images burnt into your memory and the feeling that Hollywood rarely makes films better than this.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>","fnc":"googleTrackerHelper.doTrackPage( '\/'Road-To-Perdition-film_options~18574'\/Reviews\/ViewAll\/1' );"}