There are only murderers in this room.
A review by Mike Shea Movie Rating: ( * * * * · ) DVD Rating: ( * * * * * )
Road to Perdition is a great movie on many levels. It is an excellent gangster flick, an excellent period piece, a good dramatic movie, and proof that American Beauty wasn't a fluke for director, Sam Mendes. It has enough subtlety to give the snobs a good show and enough gunplay for the masses to stick with it. While I can't say that it redefines any particular genre, it is a highly entertaining film.
Road to Perdition has many layers to it. It wraps a dramatic story of family with the setting of the 1920s prohibition era. Like M. Night Shyamalan's Signs, it is a movie that takes a common subject but makes it personal. The story moves along without any idiot plots or severe cliche's. Tom Hanks plays a good mob hitman without being overly tough or overly somber. Jude Law of Speilburg's Artificial Intelligence plays the antagonist hitman quite well, though not exactly the tough silent guy you think he'd be. He's quirky and odd but deadly with his small .45 in hand.
The real strength of Perdition is how it handles action. Gangster and action movies often find it impossible to hide anything. They show fifteen cuts of a gun battle with bottles exploding, guns blazing, and blood splattering. For some movies like Desperado and The Killer, this is done to an art form. For others it is nothing but loud filler. Perdition does something different. It hides the gunfight. Two critical scenes have gunfights that are either completely silent or visually broken. We may see some shells drop, hear the roar of a tommy gun, and see a body drop but we know nothing else about the fight. During a critical scene, a gunfight takes place with nothing but a musical score to accompany it. I was reminded of the great battle of the third castle in Kurosawa's Ran. Restraining one's self is very important for a good director. Sam Mendes knows this rule and uses it in Road to Perdition.
The DVD of Road to Perdition is reference quality. The rainy scenes and many closeups look excellent on a large screen TV. It has a 2.35 to 1 16x9 enhanced transfer and both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS soundtracks. It is an excellent film to demonstrate how much a good home theater system can improve a good movie. With the DTS soundtrack set at about -30 db from reference, the roar of the tommy gun was just as shocking to me as to young Michael. The DVD also contains a directors commentary and additional materials. For a collector, it is a DVD worth buying.
Road to Perdition is a great movie. It is highly entertaining, very well done, and doesn't bow down to typical commercial film practices. Tom Hanks is beginning to get overexposed, but this movie gives him a great character to chew on and he does it a lot of justice. The DVD is top notch and worthy of a purchase. Don't miss it.
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