"Road to Perdition" | Review and Analysis

Crime/Drama - 2002

Spoilers beware!

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Loved it, loved it, LOVED IT! Road to Perdition, from the soundtrack to the acting to the wonderful cinematography, created an enjoyable experience that left me nearly tearing up in several parts throughout. Tom Hanks, as always, delivered a stellar performance as Michael Sullivan, leaving me to sympathize with his situation. The film starts by discussing whether Sullivan was a good man seeing as his profession was criminal, to which I have to say justifying him as “good” wouldn’t be a true statement. Sullivan murdered and threatened people for a living, making him dangerous.

However, what did separate him from being evil while simultaneously sparking debate of his persona, is that he had some sort of foundational morality. He didn’t kill innocent civilians, but rather people involved in unlawful activities. Even then, before his family had been tragically slain, he still contained reservations for killing in general, as he preferred discussion over violence first. This was shown in the beginning of the film when Sullivan had gotten irritated at his associate, Connor Rooney, for hastily shooting and killing another fellow colleague before allowing for more conversation.

Furthermore, Sullivan felt obligated to pursue this career due to the influence of the man who remained the only parental figure in his life, John Mooney. Mooney, an Irish mob boss, had raised the orphaned Sullivan, providing a stable career for him, as well as a house for his wife and children after he had grown up. In Sullivan’s eyes, he knew following Mooney’s footsteps was immoral, but deemed that he owed Mooney after everything he did for him. Sullivan may have killed people for a living and followed the wrong path, yet the fact remains that he wasn’t a mindless mob enforcer either. The above interaction discussed regarding Connor and Sullivan had showcased the difference between Connor and Sullivan, as while both had been raised by Connor’s mob boss father, Sullivan displayed hesitation towards murder, whereas Connor didn’t. It sort of shows the effects of nature vs. nurture, in a way.

Moreover, Sullivan loved his family and dedicated his efforts to protecting his remaining son after their family was tragically slain by Connor Mooney. He showed kindness to those who treated him fairly, and wanted more than anything that his son, Michael Sullivan Jr., did not follow his path. That is why, in the end while dying from being shot, he killed the man who shot him before his son, who was holding a gun, could do it himself. His son even stated he couldn’t pull the trigger, and Sullivan had stated, “I know.” He didn’t attempt to lead his children into this career path like Mooney had done for him, as he wanted better for their lives. He killed that man before his son could because he didn’t want to start that cycle for his son, nor leave him feeling the weight of what killing someone is like.

Sullivan wasn’t good or bad – he simply had chosen the wrong path in life and made illegal decisions due from bad parental direction, becoming a product of his environment. As he stated in the middle of the movie, he had saw himself in his son, which is why he was extra hard on him as a way of attempting to steer him from that bad path. Maybe if Sullivan had been raised in a normal environment, he would’ve been a regular person not willing to kill anyone just like his son, Sullivan Jr., had been. Even though karma had caught up to Sullivan in the end, there is some testament to the complex nature of his character due to the fact that, in spite of his brutal crimes, I had still teared up as he died. I still found myself rooting for a happy ending for him and his son despite knowing from the beginning monologue of the film that that reality would not see fruition.

As my final point, I am a HUGE lover of cinematic and instrumental scores! Cinematic music is, without a doubt, my favorite genre of music, granting me heightened awareness towards the beauty of music within this film, as well as the way the music greatly complimented the emotional aspect of the dialogue. Between the beautifully shot scenes, the wonderful acting, and the overall storyline, I felt the music went perfect with everything. If you’re an orchestra or movie score fan like me, you will be absolutely in LOVE with this soundtrack! So beautiful and had me listening to it after the movie had finished and while writing this review.

Overall, the film had an amazing script that was perfectly executed by its actors, and I thought all the elements of what classifies a great movie were very much within Road to Perdition. LOVED this film!