IMDb > Road to Perdition (2002)
Road to Perdition
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Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   76,593 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 11% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Max Allan Collins (graphic novel) and
Richard Piers Rayner (graphic novel) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Road to Perdition on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 July 2002 (USA) more
Tagline:
Pray for Michael Sullivan more
Plot:
Bonds of loyalty are put to the test when a hitman's son witnesses what his father does for a living. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 17 wins & 51 nominations more
User Comments:
A Rolls-Royce Movie more (921 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Tom Hanks ... Michael Sullivan

Tyler Hoechlin ... Michael Sullivan Jr.
Rob Maxey ... Drugstore Owner

Paul Newman ... John Rooney

Liam Aiken ... Peter Sullivan

Jude Law ... Harlen Maguire

Jennifer Jason Leigh ... Annie Sullivan

Daniel Craig ... Connor Rooney

Ciarán Hinds ... Finn McGovern
Craig Spidle ... Rooney's Henchman
Ian Barford ... Rooney's Henchman
Stephen P. Dunn ... Finn McGovern's Henchman (as Stephen Dunn)
Paul Turner ... Finn McGovern's Henchman
Kathleen Keane ... Irish Musician
Brendan McKinney ... Irish Musician
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for violence and language.
Runtime:
117 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Jude Law hooked up with a magician to learn how to lace a coin through his fingers, a trick he performs in the film. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: When Mike Sullivan walks through the nightclub to get information from the owner, the club members are wearing "Flappers" and "Sheiks." Both were very popular clothing styles from 1925 to 1928. In 1931, they were considered outdated. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Michael Sullivan, Jr.: There are many stories about Michael Sullivan. Some say he was a decent man. Some say there was no good in him at all. But I once spent 6 weeks on the road with him, in the winter of 1931. This is our story.
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Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
There'll Be Some Changes Made more

FAQ

Is Road to Perdition a remake of Lone Wolf and Cub?
Why did Mike kill Mr. Kelly?/Did he take the money?
The film ends with a dedication to Conrad L. Hall. Who was he?
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56 out of 77 people found the following comment useful.
A Rolls-Royce Movie, 13 July 2002
7/10
Author: MICHAEL O'FARRELL (mpofarrell) from Albany, NY

I f you thought Sam Mendes' first film, the much heralded American BEAUTY was a movie with style to spare, wait until you see his highly anticipated second effort, the unrelentingly grim 30's gangster melodrama ROAD TO PERDITION. Some critics have hailed this new movie as a worthy successor to THE GODFATHER, a rash judgment made by several reviewers taken with Mr. Mendes' extraordinary technical prowess. If the mechanics of movie making are what make a picture great, then yes, ROAD TO PERDITION is a distant cousin to THE GODFATHER in terms of what it achieves in cinematography, editing, music scoring and sound. What it doesn't have is a resonance that all great stories and some very rare movies have that stay with the viewer long after the experience of reading or seeing it is over. As with American BEAUTY, there is a cold, distancing feel to this movie, despite some very tense scenes involving paternal love, loyalty and betrayal.

This story of a hit man (Tom Hanks) and his relationship to a surrogate father - figure who is also his boss, an elderly Irish mob leader (Paul Newman) , seems to have been culled from innumerable gangster movies of years past. The father /son motif that hangs over this picture is so heavy handed in its treatment that there is not much room for spontaneity ; the entire enterprise has been very carefully wrought , and nearly all the dialog is delivered with an air of great portent : this is obviously a gangster film , hence the requisite amount of violence and bloodshed , but the film is nearly devoid of any humor to speak of ; only in scenes involving a young boy driving a getaway car in a cunningly edited montage is there any sense of lightheartedness to leaven the pervasive sense of doom.

That being said , I have nothing but the highest praise for the stunning look of this film ; indeed , it is not an overstatement to say that this is one of the most beautifully photographed and designed movies I have ever seen. Veteran cameraman Conrad Hall will very likely win another Oscar for his work here . The production 's sets and costumes are just as exemplary ; in fact , the entire film is a technical marvel. Mr. Mendes continues to astonish with his vivid use of color, and he and Mr. Hall again make very dramatic use of red blood splattered against pale colored walls , all the more effective and disconcerting due to the preponderance of blacks, blues and grays that dominate the movie's color scheme.

If I have failed to duly note the acting , it is not because the actors do not purport themselves ably ; everyone in the film is top notch, with special mention going to the two malevolent bad guys : Daniel Craig is the classic "man you love to hate", the spoiled, impulsive son of Newman's gangster father ; and an almost unrecognizable Jude Law as an especially slimy miscreant who goes on pursuit of Hanks and his son and figures very importantly in the film's riveting second half. But acting in a movie this dazzling is bound to take a back seat to the photographic fireworks on display here. If a Rolls-Royce was a movie , I've no doubt it would look like ROAD TO PERDITION.

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Who's performance was best: Hanks, Newman or Law? maxpowersmdh
Where was the Academy on this one? aeonblue277
Jude Law aa-winkelmann
One one the most underrated movies..... liljayl23
Question about Maguire mcdermott1322
Anyone else see the end coming? **SPOILERS** QTJewels19
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