In 7 words or less: Nasty things happen to Tom Hanks.
What's it all About? The film takes place in America during the Great Depression. Mike Sullivan (Tom Hanks) is a 'take out the trash' kind of guy for local Illinois crime lord John Rooney (Paul Newman). After Sullivan's 12 year old son witnesses daddy doing some tommy gun massacring with Rooney's (slightly off the rails) son, things all get a bit nasty. Sullivan's family is left in tatters so he hits the road with his son, I can't remember where the road goes… Oh yeah, Perdition.
Best bits? Hands down, the best bit of this film is the breathtaking cinematography. Sam Mendes is such a beautiful director, there's no whizz bangs or thrills about his work, it's just sheer art, every single shot has clearly had so much care and effort poured into it. When you combine these glorious images with Thomas Newman's mesmerising score you come pretty close to perfection.
I'm a massive fan of Paul Newman so any scene including him is a highlight. Jude Law as the freakish corpse photographer/hit man is a great character, I would have liked to have seen more of him but I guess he's not really integral to the main story.
Did it make you think thoughts? I think you can get fooled (myself included) into thinking this is an epic crime saga about gangsters in The Great Depression, Chicago, Al Copone, tommy guns, a 3 hour running time, It's none of those things. I always forget this is an insular story involving a father and his son on a journey, a journey where they ultimately find out who one another are. I have to say, every time it hints at the bigger picture, like when they briefly go to Chicago, I want the story to open up, to get bigger in scope and so on. I think for the most part it's just my selfish side wanting to see what Mendes could do with a crime epic but never the less the story remains on track and in my opinion get's wrapped up a little too quickly. For the most part this is such a beautifully paced picture but their time on the road gets too montage(y) and becomes a little rushed towards the end of the movie.
But please don't be fooled or put off by my silly whining, this is still an absolute class act with a great central performance from Tom 'the easiest man to watch on screen' Hanks.
Would you watch it again? Absolutely. Mendes' films are like staring at great works of art.
Rating (out of 100%): 84% Visually insane and a definite treat on the senses, just a few wobbles on the 'Road To Perdition' stopping this from being an utter classic.
