Pray for Michael Sullivan.
Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) is a hit-man in the midwest during the depression. When his work crosses into his private life, leading to the death of his beloved wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and son, Michael Sullivan Junior (Tyler Hoechlin) and his surviving son, Peter (Liam Aiken), set out on a journey of revenge and self discovery.
Special Agent Matti
As far as hitmen go, Mike isn't. He's a man who does hits, a thug not an assassin. From 9 to 5, and sometimes after hours, he does the standover tactics that every crime organisation needs, with a stern, steady glare that makes you think about the things that you did wrong. Like the way you panic when the police officer catches your eye at a speed trap even though you're not speeding. Primary school teachers can do it, too, but you're too cynical for it to work much by the time you reach high school. At least I was.
Anyway, Tom Hanks beefs up even more than he did for Cast away. He is the archetypal head of the house of a staunch Irish-American Catholic working class family. Emotion is reserved for being drunk, at least the expression thereof is: Mike's love for his family is the bedrock of his existence. Exploiting that is John Looney, archetypal head of the house of a staunch Irish-American Catholic criminal class family. When you pull a man out of the gutter he'll be your friend for life. Whether that was the intention or a fortunate by-product is never revealed, but it's certainly what happened. Mike is the son John didn't have, John the father Mike never had. Everything would be fine if John didn't go and have a flesh and blood son who, like most children of rich parents, turns out to be a spoilt brat. If you can't raise a child with a firm hand you shouldn't have them in the first place. [Try telling that to Little Johnny Howard - Director of Intelligence]
Clichés aside, Daniel Craig plays Connor Rooney with more than just a chip on his shoulder. He makes Brick from Cat on a hot tin roof seem positively angelic. This is the kind of character who, in the new millennium, would be creating genetically enhanced flies so he could hear them scream when he pulls their wings off. Redeeming features: nil. On the other hand there's Michael Sullivan Junior, too much like his father to be adorable but given a completely different start in life, so ultimately redeemable. That he is redeemed is a failure of Hollywood marketing executives and American traditional family values (happy endings sell seats and everyone is inherently good, respectively) rather than any revelation of the human condition. Tyler Hoechlin does the best he can with what he's given but isn't given much with which to do anything. Despite not having read the graphic novel, I reckon that's more to do with giving Tom enough material for an Oscar than anything else.
I am a cynic.
Road to Perdition (a both metaphorical and literal title) is the kind of dramatic film that you'll appreciate but not the sort that you'll love because the wrong questions are left open ("Was the hit on Michael Senior a mistake or a plot?") and the right questions are closed ("What happens to Michael Junior?"). Despite that, it's still worth seeing. Especially if you want to see Jude Law going bald. Eek! Ugliness from an actor? Unheard of!
M (Medium level violence)
113 minutes (1:53 hours)
Film: 10 October 2002
DVD rental: 5 March 2003
VHS rental: 5 March 2003
DVD retail: 5 March 2003