DVD review Road to Perdition (From Penarth Times)

DVD review Road to Perdition

WITH A clear storyline and clever filming, Road To Perdition has claimed rave reviews across the board.

In a film directed by the incredibly talented Sam Mendes (American Beauty) Tom Hanks plays Mike Sullivan, a hit-man working for crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman).

Sullivan sees Rooney as a father figure, but when his 12-year-old son witnesses him killing, Mike finds himself on the run, trying to get to Perdition.

Not only is he trying to save Michael Junior's life - he is looking for revenge on those who murdered his wife and youngest son.

But in 1931 America, you cannot embark on a killing spree against a powerful family, rob the Mob and expect to get away with it all.

Michael has to get to know his son very quickly, while being pursued by another hitman - played by an extremely different Jude Law, co-starring as an assassin, hired to get rid of Sullivan.

Law plays Maguire, a man with a talent for killing and a morbid taste for taking photos of the recently dead. Quite a distasteful character, to be honest.

Road To Perdition' does not glorify death, nor glamorise the ruthless world of prohibition and gangster rule.

It is more effective because it limits the explosions, explores human emotions.