Road to Perdition (2002)

A mob enforcer's son witnesses a murder, forcing him and his father to take to the road, and his father down a path of redemption and revenge.

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 22 wins & 82 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tyler Hoechlin	...	Michael Sullivan Jr.
Rob Maxey	...	Drugstore Owner
Liam Aiken	...	Peter Sullivan
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Annie Sullivan
Tom Hanks	...	Michael Sullivan
Paul Newman	...	John Rooney
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
Jackie Moran	...	Irish Musician

Storyline

1931. Mike Sullivan and Connor Rooney are two henchmen of elderly downstate IL-based (Quad City area, though much of the action takes place in the Chicago area) Irish-American mobster John Rooney, Connor's father. In many respects, John treats Mike more as his son, who he raised as his own after Mike was orphaned, than the volatile Connor, who nonetheless sees himself as the heir apparent to the family business. One evening, Mike's eldest son, twelve year old Michael Sullivan Jr., who has no idea what his father does for a living, witnesses Connor and his father gun down an associate and his men, the situation gone wrong initiated from an action by Connor. Caught witnessing the incident, Michael is sworn to secrecy about what he saw. Regardless, Connor, not wanting any loose ends, makes an attempt to kill Mike, his wife and their two sons. Mike and the surviving members of his family know that they need to go on the run as Connor, who has gone into hiding, will be protected through ...

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Plot Keywords:

based on comic book | violence | surprise ending | 1930s | dog | 

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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:

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 USA:

$22,079,481, 14 July 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$104,454,762

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$181,001,478

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Twentieth Century Fox, The Zanuck Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The piano piece that Paul Newman and Tom Hanks play at the opening funeral was performed by them.

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Goofs

Bullets fired into Michael's back at the lake house exit his chest with enough velocity to cause blood spatter on the picture window inches in front of him but don't have enough energy to cause any damage to the window itself.

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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 A Cinematic Life: The Art & Influence of Conrad Hall (2010)

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Soundtracks

There'll Be Some Changes Made
(1921)
Music by W. Benton Overstreet
Lyrics by Billy Higgins
Performed by Chicago Rhythm Kings
Courtesy of Timeless Records

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