Movie #63 - Road to Perdition

Title: Road to Perdition

Director: Sam Mendes

Release Year: 2002

Plot Summary: Bonds of loyalty are put to the test when a hitman's son witnesses what his father does for a living.

Thoughts: I love this movie for two main reasons - the cinematography and the score. It's hard to believe that this was only Sam Mendes' second film; in Perdition, as in American Beauty, he has a wonderful eye for lighting, tempo, and just plain gorgeous shots and scenes. Without spoiling anything for those who haven't seen it, I'd say the scene in the rain near the end is one of the most powerful I can think of in any recent films.

Thomas Newman has quite a knack for haunting scores, and he seems to complement Mendes' films quite well so far. I think it says quite a bit that I went out and bought both scores (this one and American Beauty) immediately after seeing the films for the first time. ;)

Anyway, the story is also quite good, but not terribly spectacular, I don't think. The actors were all solid, but other than Paul Newman and possibly Jude Law, there weren't any incredible stand-out performances either. But with the technical skills that Mendes obviously has, I think we're going to see great things out of him - hell, we already have, and he's just getting started...

Rating (0-10): 7.5

Recomendations: See it, but don't buy it unless you really end up loving it. It's highly worth watching, but I don't know if I've done so often enough to justify owning it.