64) Road To Perdition
Director: Sam Mendes
Year: 2002
Plot Summary: Mike Sullivan works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney. However, after his son is witness to a killing he has done, Sullivan finds himself on the run trying to save the life of his son and, at the same time, looking for revenge on those who wronged him.
Sam Mendes is one of the most faultless directors there are. His movies are always brilliantly made with every single frame so full of detail, beauty and power. Whether its the war movie Jarhead or the light-hearted comedy Away We Go, the British director's work is consistently an absolute wonder to behold. However, as impeccable as his abilities as a director may be, it's very often the stories that fall short in Mendes' movies. The aforementioned Away We Go, while funny, joyful and touching, was littered with plot holes and ridiculous events while his latest release, Revolutionary Road, lacked any real depth or meaning. Again, with his 2002 release, Road To Perdition, its the narrative that disappoints.
It's not that the story is bad. It's just that Road To Perdition doesn't really have anything original or exciting to say. It's a narrative that, although not entirely predictable, appears to be rehashed from dozens of other films that have come before. Moreover, this Probation era flick ends up finding itself confused in regards to what it wants to be by about the halfway point. It set itself up, for the first hour, as a crime story set within the boundaries of a family drama, but it soon becomes a road movie, a father and son story, a mystery, a revenge thriller, a game of cat and mouse and a heist movie as well. While such a vast hybrid of genres is something that occasionally works in movies, it all feels disjointed and muddled in Road To Perdition.
The acting is also fairly poor throughout. Tom Hanks stars as the lead character here and feels completely miscast, very often coming out of the strong, quiet and loyal character of Mike Sullivan and returning to the usual Hanks performance you'd find in The Da Vinci Code and Catch Me If You Can. Moreover, as much as I love him and think he's an underrated actor, Daniel Craig feels equally miscast in Road To Perdition. He certainly does his best but it's clearly too far out of the Bond star's comfort zone. And just when you think it couldn't get worse... Jude Law pops his unwanted face into the picture in one of the most painful performances I've had to endure from a popular actor in a while. It really is that bad.
In spite of all these criticisms though, it's hard to deny that I did enjoy watching the movie. Mainly because, after all, I'm a sucker for a picture that looks amazing and, like I said above, nobody can deliver this quite as well as Sam Mendes. From the opening shot of a lonely, engulfing sea, every frame of Road To Perdition is gorgeously composed with, not only a fantastic attention to period detail, but heart-stopping imagery to boot. Particularly breathtaking is the scene towards the end in which Sullivan confronts his boss in a rainy street silhouetted by the street lights. It's not just the director and cinematography that helps achieve this either, credit should also be given to the fantastic music and brilliant editing.
Hopefully, one day, Mendes will once again be able to complement his incredible directing talent with a stunning script like he did with his debut American Beauty. But, until then, I'll gladly suffer some below average stories like Road To Perdition if only to witness one of the most talented filmmakers in the world today in action.
3/5
1 comments:
I think it's pretty good but I gotta rewatch. Love the magestic cinematography and score. They're decade worthy.
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