Road to Perdition Summary Respnse Essay of Ebert

Items | Lee Sartin | Todd McCarthy | Roger Ebert | Stephen Holden | Judgement | An absolutely wonderful movie about father and son relationships. | A-plus awards-season pedigree. Looks to play well with all audiences. | It is wonderfully acted. No movie this year will be more praised for its cinematography. Admired it. Its cold and holds us outside. | A truly majestic visual tone poem. | Criteria 1-Performances | | Newman is in excellent form as mob boss. Hanks resists temptation to soften his character. | It is wonderfully acted. | Hank’s a stern, taciturn killer who projects a tortured nobility. Paul Newman’s most farsighted, anguished performances. | Criteria 2-Screenplay | Brings the likes of a son who is seen in the eyes of his father becoming more like him with which he doesn’t want him to become. | Movie has been calibrated to the nth degree. | Asks whether it is possible for fathers to spare their sons from the costs of their sins. | Captures the fear-tinged awe with which boys regard their fathers and the degree to which that awe continues to reverberate into adult life. | Criteria 3-Soundtrack | “Im glad its you” the mute sounds of gunshots from afar bring the feeling of hardship brought onto Michael as he must kill his the one who is protecting the murderer of the Sullivan family. Outstanding soundtrack brings the feel of the emotion into the film. | | | | Criteria 4-Photagraphy | | Beautifully envoked on modern LaSalle St. | Creates a visceral chill. | A scrupulous balance between the pop illustrations of a graphic novel and Depression-era paintings. | Criteria 5-Set Design | Taking modern day city and using abandoned factories and buildings to set the tone for the ending of a depression in which the movie is set. | Doesn’t clarify at the onset of the movie. | | | Criteria 6-Cinematography | | Extraordinary. | No movie this year will be more praised. | Inspires a continuing and deeply satisfying awareness. | Criteria 7-Action