Road to Perdition (2002)

Directed by Sam Mendes. Starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Daniel Craig, Jude Law, Tyler Hoechlin, Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dylan Baker, Ciarán Hinds. [R]

Austere and visually arresting Depression-era gangster film based on a graphic novel from Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner. Mob hitman Hanks is forced to go on the run with his young son (Hoechlin) when conflict arises between his family and the troublemaking son (Craig) of local boss Newman. The fathers-and-sons angle and the attempt to explore the far-reaching consequences of bloodshed never crystallize as more than texture to its menagerie of classic crime film tributes, using Tommy Gun eruptions and sheets of rain and deep shadows both inside and out of the familiar period locations of abandoned warehouses, roadside diners, posh hotels, and banks overflowing with mob money. There aren’t any surprises on its path to the inevitable (which is an overly staged climax, to boot), but when the pulp drama is this satisfying, the visuals are this evocative, and the acting this good (save for Law, whose assassin has at least one too many cartoonish mannerisms to be effective), it’s hard to gripe. Final film for director of photography Conrad L. Hall; the Academy Award he won for his intuitively atmospheric work here was presented posthumously. Also the final feature film appearance from Newman (though he’d still do a little bit of voice work).

77/100