Grim ‘Road to Perdition’ not typical summer flick

Dennis Piszkiewicz

What strikes you first about “The Road to Perdition” are the

images. Bleak, cold and monochromatic -- images of northern Illinois

in winter.

The year is 1931; prohibition is on its way out; and economic

depression is tearing at the country. Then coming to the center of

the screen, but still in shadow, is Michael Sullivan, played by Tom

Hanks, a man who is as bleak, cold and colorless as the landscape.

Sullivan’s sins are about to catch up with him, to send him on a

mission of revenge and give him a final chance at salvation.

Sullivan is a thug who works for an Irish mob boss named John

Rooney, played by Paul Newman. Rooney took Sullivan in as a young

orphan. He gave Sullivan a home and a profession. Sullivan pays

Rooney back by being a loyal soldier and a ruthless killer. He is

also a devoted, although distant, family man. Sullivan’s grim but

stable existence is turned upside down by Rooney’s son, resentful of

his father’s close relationship with Sullivan. Sullivan and his

12-year-old son abandon their home and begin a six-week road trip

during which Sullivan confronts his enemies, and his son learns how

to be a better man than his father.

Inevitably, “The Road to Perdition” invites comparisons to

gangster movies of the past, like “The Godfather.” In some ways it is

also reminiscent of Greek and Shakespearean tragedy and those

Japanese Samurai movies of several decades ago. The film’s makers may

not have achieved all of their ambitions, but what they put on the

screen is a wonder to behold.

Visually, the film is stunning. The sets and costumes evoke the

time. The winter landscapes, subdued lighting and omnipresent

freezing rain define a mood of danger, if not despair.

The script has a few weak spots. The most notable of these is

Sullivan’s decision to get the attention of Al Capone’s outfit by

robbing banks where it keeps its cash -- a dangerous move at best.

The film uses these robberies as a way to bring a little humor into

the otherwise grim, unfolding tragedy. Humor may have worked in

“Bonnie and Clyde,” but is seems out of place in this dark drama.

Hanks, as Sullivan, never smiles and rarely betrays emotion. He

plays Sullivan as if he is imploding into the moral vacuum he has

made of his life. Newman effortlessly plays mob boss Rooney, who has

built an empire of crime, power and wealth, with the full expectation

that he will spend eternity in hell. Both actors turn in outstanding

performances as friends who become mortal enemies.

If you’re thinking of seeing “The Road to Perdition,” know what

you’re getting into. Summer is the time when theaters play

empty-headed comedies, action-filled escapism and sequels. This

original film is as far as one can get from that pattern. “The Road

to Perdition” takes the moviegoer on a grim and emotional journey.

* DENNIS PISZKIEWICZ is a Laguna Beach resident.