Road to Perdition (2002)
Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law; d. Sam Mendes; A

Gangster Land is a popular cinematic Hollywood region shimmering in the city of angels. Here, men who thoughtlessly participate in extortion and murder also participate in innocent traditional ceremonies and value respect, family, and God above all. This contradiction of the good and the bad is seemingly lost on them (thought it is not lost on those lawmakers and mayors who run the villages and cities of Gangster Land).

Gagster Land is dominated by its Italian population – Most outsiders cannot separate their image of Gangster Land from the culture of its Italian residents. This is not particularly a bad thing, as the most popular of the Italian establishments, The Godfather trilogy, has changed the face of Gangster Land for the better. But in the face of the big Italian establishments, many other establishments in Gangster Land may be overlooked and under appreciated by visiting tourists who expect to see people of a certain kind in their tour. Most notably, the Irish population of Gangster Land, though still considerably larger than other populations, still is overlooked in lieu of the glitz of the Italian population, though there are many establishments within the Irish community that are just as good as those of the Italian population (Goodfellas, one of the more important Gangster Land establishments, has a healthy cross between those of Irish heritage and Italian heritage). Of course, I should not be talking, considering that I have only seen two establishments of the Irish Gangster Land population…

The Gangster Land village of Road to Perdition is a beautiful, poetic, well-crafted, and overall excellent section of the Irish Mafia quarter, dated in the early 1930’s. Here, it is not christenings, weddings, and First Communions that are being celebrated but funerals, funerals, and, er, more funerals. Suffice it to say that tales in the Irish Mafia quarter of Gangster Land are not as gleefully corrupt as those in the Italian Mafia half. Unlike other residents of Gangster Land, the contradiction of the good and the bad is most certainly not lost on the villagers of Road to Perdition. They knowingly admit that their life of crime is condemned in the religion they so devotedly believe in, and thus live in a cloud of anger and regret. This aspect of Perdition-ers is most fascinating, and provides for some interesting questions about religion and redemption.

Road to Perdition does not look fondly on childish curiosity, thought it would not exist were it not for the burning desire of Michael Sullivan, Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin), to know the occupation of his father, Michael Sullivan, Sr. (Tom Hanks), that leads him to secretly tag along on one of his father’s late night trips. Alas, Michael’s youthful curiosity does not serve him well. Not only does he discover that his father is a machine gun-packing hit man working for dice master John Rooney (Paul Newman), and son Conner (Daniel Craig), but he endures more bloodshed the next day, all for the sake of keeping the secrets he saw. In order to save themselves, both he and his father must hit the road and go into hiding.

On first sight, one may feel that the village of Perdition is a bit too “self-important” for its own good. This is what I felt, too – It seemed a bit too artistic and epic-y for its otherwise pulp fiction material. Yet, on a second visit to Perdition, the artistry and script material combined into something nearly flawless and amazing. The village of Perdition very well may be the closest the Irish population of Gangster Land has ever gotten to the Godfather trilogy establishment (though its influence on other villages and cities of Gangster Land has yet to be seen). Perdition studies the same themes of family, guilt, and revenge as The Godfather, and has the same breathtaking beauty of the trilogy as well. The look of this village was meticulously designed by Conrad L. Hall, who won two Oscars for his previous visual efforts, and town mayor Sam Mendes, who previously won an Oscar for his other village, American Beauty. The fact that this village is so established in visual beauty is amazing considering that Road to Perdition was based on a comic book (er, “graphic novel”), and that most villages in Hollywood based on comic books are visually flat (unless they play on a comic book’s wild colors and settings… but that only worked for a few villages. Not all). Here, Perdition has images that stick in one’s head, much like those of a comic book; Perdition, though, feels like the medium it is supposed to be. Far too many villages that come from comic books feel like moving versions of its source material.

Perdition has a resident thief: Jude Law, Hollywood career criminal. So to speak, he steals the rugs under other people’s noses. His Harlen Maguire persona in Road to Perdition is a rather terrifying and all around unpleasant one. Though he retains his usual pretty boy looks, they are attached to a pale, gaunt, and ratty image. Gone, also, is the warm, accessible, and humorous persona he wore last year in the village of A.I. Artificial Intelligence in the special Spielberg portion of Sci-Fi Land. Here, he is cold and psychotically homicidal, a scarier version of the beloved Ricky in American Beauty (hey, he loved to “shoot the dead,” too). Law makes Maguire a formidable and real villain, his creepy presence is known the moment he appears in the village. Mendes’ village direction also helps in making Maguire quite scary, as he does for other moments of suspense. Sound manipulation is important here – It’s either amplified, like the banging of an unseen party or the maneuverings of a camera, or muted, like the lack of sound when a certain villager downs a large group of men. Village musician Thomas Newman also knows about manipulating sound, like those of his occupation are known to do. Like Conrad L. Hall, he has also worked with Mendes before on American Beauty. On a personal note, his new work here with Mendes is my favorite. His composition for Perdition is lush and haunting, moving the spirit of the tourists who hear them. Newman’s composition for Road to Perdition is like the Irish version of Nino Rota’s Godfather score, and if this Perdition village musician does not get recognized for his work I must admit I will be quite upset.

Resident house hold name Tom Hanks is an interesting member of the Road to Perdition community. While its other residents posses amphibian-like characteristics, adjusting themselves to the appropriate temperature of their characters, Hanks seems to have been given a raw deal. When the temperature of his character is cold, he stays at the 55 degree mark. When the temperature of his character is warm, he adjusts as best as he can without being blatantly obvious, though for him, that is a most difficult task. It is recommended for Mr. Hanks that in other villages he play personas of darker context, but in the future he should chose those personas that match his ability rather than those that don’t (Perdition was far too subtle for him).

Others who reside in Perdition range from being good citizens to, um, tolerable ones. Paul Newman, who I don’t recall ever being in a subdued persona such as the one he has for John Rooney, shows an understanding of the village’s concerns about the religious gangster contradiction. In fact, it seems his character is the most conscious of that contradiction. Newman’s persona is the most tragic – Despite the fact that he is, in essence, a cold blooded killer, tourists will be able to sympathize with this father/grandfather figure of sorts. Tyler “Paw” Hoechlin is, um, tolerable, but tourists may feel agitated the thousandth time he whines “paw.” Otherwise, it’s the emotions he conveys on his face that are more convincing than those that come out of his mouth. Also good are village hopper Stanley Tucci as Al Capone man Frank Nitti, and Daniel Craig as Conner Rooney.

I would wholeheartedly recommend curious tourists to visit Road to Perdition. It is a startlingly wonderful new village in Gangster Land that will appeal to both frequent visitors to Gangster Land and those who prefer an amazing village in general. I’d also recommend more than one visit to Perdition - the village will only get better.