neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Road To Perdition
	Sam Mendes Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stanley Tucci, Daniel Craig, Tyler Hoechlin 2002		Lionized theater veteran Sam Mendes shifted gears from the modern suburban malaise of "American Beauty," his stunning, Oscar-winning debut as a film director, to this classy-looking, superbly acted period crime drama. "Road to Perdition" is a live-action adaptation of the shadowy graphic novel written by Max Allan Collins and illustrated by Richard Piers Rayner. Not as compelling or flashy as the darkly comic "American Beauty," "Road to Perdition" offers other allures in its morally ambiguous account of Depression-era gangster Michael Sullivan, who must go up against mob colleagues in order to avenge a wrong and protect his son. Playing Sullivan, Tom Hanks does the most subtle, accomplished acting of his career. Old smoothie Paul Newman is completely credible as John Rooney, Sullivan's boss and conflicted father figure. Jude Law gives a sensational performance as a contract killer on Sullivan's trail. And Mendes mines pathos from the situation. With Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stanley Tucci, Daniel Craig and Tyler Hoechlin.