Road to Perdition

A March 2007 purchase, this DVD is the fourth-oldest in my backlog. At least, it was, until this morning. This isn't the first time I've seen this movie; that time came five or six years ago, on VHS. I have owned about a dozen and a half VHS tapes in my day, and all but two of them have been replaced by (or "upgraded to") DVD. Some would call it a waste of money to purchase a DVD copy of every VHS tape one already owns, but then again, VHS was a really terrible format. It's easy to forget how big the jump from VHS to DVD was; it was certainly far bigger than the DVD to Blu-ray jump. And, yeah, if I tried to purchase every DVD I owned on Blu-ray, it'd be financial suicide, as well as the easiest way to give up my backlog-clearing quest. The only two VHS tapes I own that have yet to be upgraded to DVD status are The Usual Suspects and Signs. And don't think I haven't searched hard for good deals on both. Oh yeah, that reminds me... not a quality snob? Want some VHS tapes? Hit me up. I've got several left that I will never, ever again use, and am willing to give away readily. Anyway, let's talk about Road to Perdition. It's underrated and overlooked by most, including myself. It's a good movie that has only a few flaws (most notably, a lack of emotional connection to the characters and their tragedies). The cold and dark visual tones that encase the two movie's two hours are masterfully executed, and the cinematographer rightfully won many awards and much praise and recognition for his efforts. The movie is about a Great Depression era Irish mob hitman and his pure and simple quest for vengeance against those that have wronged him. In this regard, the plot is nothing special whatsoever. But it's the performances that make this film stand out. Tom Hanks, Jude Law, and the late Paul Newman are all absolutely fantastic at their portrayals of ruthless murderers. All of the principal characters in the film are devout Catholics (being Irishmen), and while religion does not play nearly as heavily into the film as it does in others like Boondock Saints, it does provide some very simple context for the characters and their crimes. The title itself is essentially "Road to Hell," a nice play on words, as the town that Tom Hanks' character is ultimately trying to reach is called "Perdition;" the "road" to there is thus both literal and symbolic, and it represents the end of his journey, both in the context of his mission and ultimately once he someday dies. In one of the most enduring scenes of the film, Paul Newman's character (the mob boss) laments to Sullivan (Tom Hanks) in the midst of a tension-gripped moment that "the only certainty is that none of us will ever get into heaven." Sullivan soon realizes that his son (played by some kid, naturally) still has a chance, as he has not yet killed a man, despite his involvement in Sullivan's mission for vengeance. This all sets up a very bittersweet ending fifteen minutes later that I can't bring myself to ruin at all. See it for yourself. Road to Perdition is a smart movie, but not in a pretentious way that taxes your brain or makes you sacrifice three hours of your day. It's relatively short, free of fluff, and worth a viewing if you've never seen it.