Road to Perdition
Director: Sam Mendes
Year Released: 2002
Rating: 1.5
A young man and his father go looking for revenge in this flaccid, self-interested picture, which is heavy on the shadows and weak on plotting. Never creates much of an impact, and for all of cinematographer Conrad Hall and director Mendes' efforts to make this play like a spiritual odyssey into the soul, the result is nothing remarkable, as the story is not complex enough to carry the burden of all those church scenes and agonized faces and the conveniently-placed Virgin Mary and Jesus icons. Jude Law adds some light humor to the phoniness - pop quiz: which was the last role Law had that he took seriously? - and Paul Newman (despite losing and regaining his accent several times) is an ever-reliable and intense performer. The movie decides to end when most of the characters have been executed. Note: John Woo had nothing to do with the production. Trust me. I checked.
