Road to Perdition (2003)

One part crime saga, two parts family drama, Road to Perdition, Sam Mendes' stirring follow-up to 1999's ''American Beauty,'' falls squarely between genres. Though it masquerades as a slick gangster thriller, the picture is more natural a companion to its director's suburban-set debut than to any Mob flick. Sure, the adventure of hitman Tom Hanks and son Tyler Hoechlin takes place in a tommy-gun-filled 1931, but it really amounts to another frank, timely tale of a doomed middle-American dad who's lost his focus and can't communicate with his kid.

''Perdition'' was an early Academy Award favorite, but its only major nod went to supporting-actor contender Paul Newman as Hanks' ambivalent Irish godfather. A palpable tension percolates between these titans, and it's nice to see that Mendes has matured enough to let the steely-sad stares of his actors impart deep-seated emotion, where in ''Beauty'' he resorted to crass histrionics. He's also more willing to let his story play out via the meticulous, masterful cinematography of the late Conrad L. Hall (an Oscar winner for ''Beauty'') -- a virtue since, even on the small screen, Hall's work truly blows the mind.

You Might Also Like

• Movie Review Road to Perdition (Jul 12, 2002) | Lisa Schwarzbaum
• Movie News Five movies based on graphic novels (Mar 09, 2007)
• All About Road to Perdition
• Movie News Why Paul Newman could win an Oscar (Jul 12, 2002) | Jeff Jensen
• In the News Here are the Oscar nominations (Dec 13, 2002) | Gary Susman
• Movie News The latest news from Hollywood