 "Not much of a review but...." | 2009-08-02 |
| - Reviewed By User: A393Y5NWMGDUR5 |
I just have to say the scenery was spectacular, for me personally. I wish I had seen it on the big screen! (but I was too young, wouldn't have been interested 7 years ago).
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 "Tour de Force performance from Hanks" | 2009-07-31 |
| - Reviewed By classictrekfan |
Max Allan Collins, the former writer of the Dick Tracy Comic Strip wrote the graphic novel this story was based on. It this one Hank's character plays a hitman. His son follows him one day with tragic results. I don't want to give away too much. However it's a film that can be viewed more than once. It doesn't lose any of it's impact. I would like to read the graphic novel it's based on and the sequel. I have to wonder if the sequel matches the power of the first story.
If you are a Hanks fan or any type of film buff, this is one you'll never forget! |
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| "A road well worth traveling..." | 2009-07-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: ANCOMAI0I7LVG |
I feel really sad for Sam Mendes. I guess I really shouldn't, since he won a Directing Oscar on his first shot out the box in 1999, but in this particular case I feel really bad for him. Much like the Coen brothers in 1990, Sam Mendes made a wonderful Gangster movie that was trampled over by an inferior one; both by Martin Scorsese. Sure, `Road to Perdition' is no `Miller's Crossing' (which is a masterpiece), but then again `Gangs of New York' is far from `GoodFellas'. Truth be told though, `Road to Perdition' is much more controlled, complete and enjoyable than that scattered mess Scorsese campaigned for a Best Picture nomination.
The film centers on Michael Sullivan, a strong arm for an Irish mob in depression era Chicago. When his son, Michael Jr., witnesses a murder he becomes a liability, one that John Rooney, Michael's boss, can't allow. When Michael's wife and youngest son are murdered at the hands of his `family' Michael and his Michael Jr. travel down the road of revenge, vowing to set matters straight.
But it is far from an easy journey.
Emotionally, `Road to Perdition' has a lot going for it. It is a film bent on exploiting the contradictions between the life of a mobster and the life of a father. Michael Sullivan is a man going to hell, but his only desire is that his son makes it to heaven. While it seems like a simple enough morale, the way in which Mendes transfers it is deeply moving.
But the film, above all else, is a technical marvel.
`Road to Perdition' is visually stunning, a sublime directorial piece by Mendes. It reminds me a lot of his recent `Revolutionary Road' in the way he was able to really connect with the era, not just the story. Everything is so clean and so authentic; from the cars to the décor of the homes to the look of the skin on the man you are staring at. Everything about this film lives and breathes the era Mendes was attempting to capture. The score and the glorious set pieces also help in that regard. Another testament to Mendes's impressive direction is the performances he gets from the ENTIRE cast. This is one of the strongest ensembles of the year, for each and every player, no matter how small, adds so much to their scenes. One that is truly impressive is Hanks, who I am vocally NOT a fan of. What I really appreciated about his performance was the way he very slowly came out of his dark shell. It was such a realistic and ultimately heartbreaking transition because we saw him become a father for the first time. This had a lot to do, I'm sure, with Mendes's instructions, and his pacing of the film (while some may find it slow) truly helped establish this man's emotional journey.
Hanks is not the only star here though, as I mentioned, everyone is great. Paul Newman is the films standout, without question. His paternal conflictions are so reaching and so moving, especially as the film draws to a close. Jude Law is a horrific mental image who never fades away (giving me chills right now) and Daniel Craig took advantage of his personal charm in creating an arrogant child in a man's body. Even bit parts like Stanley Tucci's or Jennifer Jason Leigh's or Anthony LaPaglia (who was cut from the film only to make his way back if you catch the right `version') are all spot on.
Like I mentioned, this is no `Miller's Crossing'. The film, while great and far better than Scorsese's overhyped disaster, is not perfect. I personally did not like the subplot involving the bank robberies and actually found the bizarre approach to those scenes almost off-putting. They construed the eerie vibe the film was maintaining by trying too hard to insert a comedic edge. Thankfully it was short-lived, but it is there and that upsets me. I actually could have gone with a little more length in the film as well; maybe a few more scenes fleshing out the relationship budding between father and son. I think that it would have aided the film in comparing the relationship between Michael and his son with the relationship between Michael and Rooney, who was obviously a father figure.
The film is still stunning in many areas and a very, very engrossing and entertaining film. I highly recommend this to any fan of the genre or the actors or the director (I am really impressed with his small yet diversified resume), for they are all at the top of their games. |
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| "Beautifully filmed..." | 2009-06-28 |
| - Reviewed By willows340 |
| ...but very unsettling. I liked this movie-I liked it a lot. Yet I feel ambivalent towards it at the same time. Lots of seemingly unnecessary death, lots of blood, lots of violence. But then, I suppose that's the world of the gangster. Unfortunately, their families get drawn in to this hellish world and it usually never ends well. But for Michael Jr it kind of does. It was a pat, tidy ending, but that's OK...we needed a little happiness by that point! Again though...gorgeous sets-very evocative. |
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| "Can the son survive his father's death?" | 2009-04-07 |
| - Reviewed By wuivre_eternelle |
Nothing to brag about. One more film about the end of prohibition and Al Capone. One more film on the mafia, both Italian and Irish. And yet this film has a slightly different touch. It is the fact that the father-son issue is widely explored. A mafia boss has a foolish and cheating son. He protects him and takes under his wing another man, Michael Sullivan, to transfer his paternal love onto someone worth it. Unluckily a detail one night brings the son of this latter man, Michael Sullivan Jr., into the act of witnessing the son of the mafia boss killing another good man on the spur of his anger. This son of a mafia boss will then try to clean up his plate and start killing everyone connected to that embarrassing witness. Michael Sullivan Sr. then has to get on the road of vengeance after the killing of his wife and younger son. He thus escapes the killers with his older son and yet he will end up falling in the last trap out of sloppiness, maybe just to be even with fate and God. The only survivor will be Michael Jr. All the others will be dead and happily buried. There is a slight empathy in that filial and paternal situation. An entertaining film indeed.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines, CEGID
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| "A KILLER FINDS HIS HEART" | 2009-02-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2IZIYYCEGOMEU |
| ROAD TO PERDITION has become my favorite crime-drama. Hanks, and Newman turn in powerful, subtle performances in this poignantly beautiful film, but the cinematography almost steals the show. Conrad Hall's camera work throughout this quiet epic gangster story of family, and redemption is almost as magical as the still photography of Ansel Adams, and Mendes' direction is every bit as good here as it was in AMERICAN BEAUTY. This is a true gem of a movie and one of the few that has explored filial love this eloquently in recent years. |
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