2831:
My top 5 favorite movies:
3. Road to Perdition
There are many stories about Michael Sullivan. Some say he was a decent man. Others say there was no good in him at all. But I once spent 6 weeks on the road with him, in the winter of 1931.
i love this movie!
Director: Sam Mendes
Cinematography: Conrad Hall
Cast: Tom Hanks, Jude Law, Paul Newman, Daniel Craig
Score: 9/10
Road to Perdition starts off a bit too slow for me, but as soon as things get set in motion, the film captures my full attention. The first twenty minutes or so are understandably spent setting things up, but I just feel like everything the audience needs to know could be established quicker. Some of the scenes, though necessary, could probably be trimmed down for a more concise start.
The sluggish beginning is really the only small problem I have with this otherwise excellent film. Road to Perdition is one of those films where a bunch of really great elements come together to make a great movie. The music is perfect, the cast gives great performances, the characters are intriguing, the cinematography is brilliant, and the story itself is new and interesting. What more can one ask for?
The music is very reminiscent of American Beauty, which can hardly be a coincidence since director Sam Mendes’ directed that before he did Road to Perdition. The music swells at all the right moments and helps punctuate big emotional moments for the characters, especially Michael Sr. It almost sounds as if the soundtrack for American Beauty was reworked to have an old, 1930’s dimension to it. However they did it, the soundtrack is really well composed and certainly adds a great deal to the overall film.
It’s no surprise that big stars like Paul Newman, Tom Hanks, Jude Law, and Daniel Craig do a superb job in bringing the characters to life. It’s so easy to hate Craig’s character, to pity the position Newman’s character finds himself in, and to feel sorry for the life Hanks’ character has had to lead. Not to mention that Tyler Hoechlin does a decent job playing Michael Jr. as well. And how bizarrely intriguing is Jude Law’s character? Even from the very first scene we meet Jude’s Harlan Maguire, he fascinates us with just how odd of a character he is. Though he eventually leads to the demise of hero, I can’t help but appreciate how creepy and strange of a character he is.
Conrad Hall. That’s really all that needs to be said about the cinematography in Road to Perdition. For people who don’t pay much attention to lighting, Conrad Hall is a pretty big deal when it comes to cinematography. He was nominated for eight Academy Awards for his cinematography and won three of them (for Road to Perdition, American Beauty, and In Cold Blood). So with Hall on the lights, Road to Perdition obviously looks amazing. Honestly, you can pause the film at any random point and the majority of the time, that still frame would make a great photo on its own.
I like how simple and yet how original the story of Road to Perdition is. The plot is basically a tale of a man’s quest to avenge the murder of his wife and son. But so many themes and ideas emerge from that uncomplicated base – the relationship between father and son, questions about loyalty, redemption, revenge, etc. Those deeper issues make the film way more interesting than just a guy trying to kill some other guy.
For a final verdict, I’d give Road to Perdition a 9/10. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a damn good film that I think other similar movies would have a hard time beating.
