Road to Perdition (2002)

Bonds of loyalty are put to the test when a hitman's son witnesses what his father does for a living.

Director:

Sam Mendes

Writers:

Max Allan Collins (graphic novel), Richard Piers Rayner (graphic novel),

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Tyler Hoechlin, Rob Maxey

Won 1 Oscar. Another 23 wins & 54 nominations.

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

Storyline

Mike Sullivan works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney. Sullivan views Rooney as a father figure. However after his son is witness to a killing he has done Mike Sullivan finds him self on the run trying to save the life of his son and at the same time looking for revenge on those who wronged him. Jude Law co stars as a hit man hired to kill Sullivan.

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Plot Keywords:

revenge | hitman | on the run | rifle | apology | 

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Taglines:

The innocence of a son is surpassed only by the father's will to save it.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

DreamWorks [us] Fox [uk]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 July 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Camino a la perdición

Filming Locations:

Aurora, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$797,627 (Italy) (20 December 2002)

Gross:

$40,935,560 (Europe) (10 January 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks SKG, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Zanuck Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank Nitti's office is based on the office of Jeffrey Katzenberg.

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Goofs

The music playing in the background during the diner scene is "Queer Notions", which was recorded in 1933.

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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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Crazy Credits

Thanks to all at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre, London

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Connections

Referenced in That's So Raven: The Road to Audition (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Sidewalk Blues"
(1926)
Music by Ferdinand 'Jelly Roll' Morton (as Ferd "Jelly Roll" Morton)
Lyrics by Walter Melrose (uncredited)
Performed by The Orbert Davis Sextet

User Reviews

A true masterpiece

Road to Perdition, a movie undeservedly overlooked at that year Oscars is the second work of Sam Mendes (and in my opinion his best work), a director who three years before won Oscar for his widely acclaimed but controversial American Beauty. This is a terrific movie, and at the same time ultimately poignant and sad.

It's a story of a relatively wealthy and happy family from outward appearance during difficult times of Depression when the, Michael Sullivan, a father of two children, played by great Tom Hanks (I'm not his admirer but ought to say that) is a hit-man for local mafia boss, played by Paul Newman. His eldest son, a thirteen years boy Michael Sullivan Jr., perfectly played by young Tyler Hoechlin, after years of blissful ignorance finds out what is his father job and on what money their family live. Prompted by his curiosity and his aspiration to know truth he accidentally becomes a witness of a murder, committed by John Rooney, son of his father boss. Such discovery strikes an innocent soul and it caused numerous events that changed his life forever. The atmosphere of the period, all the backgrounds and decorations are perfectly created, editing and cinematography are almost flawless while the story is well written. But the main line of the movie, the most important moments and points of the movie and the key factor of the movie success are difficult father-son relations in bad times. They are shown so deeply, strong and believable. Tom Hanks does excellent and has one of the best performances of his career in a quite unusual role for him and all acting across the board is superb. Finally worth to mention a very nice score by Paul Newman and in the result we get an outstanding work of all people involved in making this beautiful (but one more time sad) masterpiece. I believe Road to Perdition belongs to greatest achievements of film-making of this decade and undoubtedly one of the best films of the year.

My grade 10 out of 10