Making it more effective . The line by Newman's character to Hanks I'm glad it was you is a scene that stays with me. It's Newman's final onscreen film and scene. Without going into the entire plot it's about how both men ultimately choose their own son's but still had some kind of code between them that made this final moment between them poignant.

Hanks own character Michael Sullivan gets to know his older son after a tragedy sends them on the run ( he didn't even know his favorite subject in school and is surprised by it but seems to understand the reason as Michael jr tells him). He always thought he treated his sons the same but realizes he didn't want his older son to turn out like him and may have made him harsher with his older son. The younger one Peter being sweet and gentle. Michael Sr and Jr realize they have more in common. They have a tender moment and it will help Michael jr in the future.

Michael Sr.'s final act saves Michael jr literally but also morally.

Michael jr returns to a farm house where an elderly couple helped them before and he lives out his childhood with them.

Minor complaint Jennifer Jason Leigh is wasted in the role of Annie Sullivan Michael Sr. Wife and Michael jr and Peter's mother. She even lacks the insight to her family dynamic that the farm lady picks up on easily. Another mob movie that doesn't seem to know how to make better use of female characters.

Well written, acted and directed Road to Perdition also has incredible cinematography.

A enforcer for a gangster in the liquor business finds the tables turned on him and goes on the run with his son in "Road to Perdition," a 2002 film directed by Sam Mendes.

Tom Hanks plays Michael Sullivan, a quiet, remote father of two who works for a crooked liquor dealer, John Rooney (Paul Newman) who took him in and treats him as his son. His two boys aren't clear about what he does, and one night, when he goes out on a job, his older son, Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) hides in the car and follows his dad and Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig) as they go to "talk" to someone. As the young boy watches, Connor loses his temper and starts shooting up the place, and Michael joins in. Connor sees Michael Jr. when he exits. Michael Sr. of course promises that his boy won't say anything. On his next job, Connor gives him a note for the man Michael is to see, who is in heavy debt to John Rooney. Michael is forced to kill the man when he sees that the man is about to kill him. On looking at the note Connor asked him to deliver, it says, "Kill Sullivan and all debts are paid." Several hours later, Michael's life is devastated, and he and his older son are on the run, Michael determined to destroy Connor.

I saw this film without being aware of anyone liking or disliking it or of it being overlooked by the Oscars - I only had heard of it and actually rented it because I am a huge fan of Paul Newman's. Let me say that I was astounded by the brilliance of this film in every aspect. It possibly captured the time period of the early '30s better than any film I've ever seen, right down to the Doeskin tissues I used to see piled up in my grandparents' basement. The cinematography is staggering.

The gangster story in "Road to Perdition" actually wraps around a more important one, that of the bonding of father and son, which is beautifully told. Hanks is magnificent as a closed off man who gets to know his boy during their life on the run, and vice versa. "He dotes on you," a woman on a farm tells Michael. The two Michaels are alike, but Senior never wants Junior to follow in his footsteps. Paul Newman is, as usual, terrific as John Rooney, a tough gangster who goes to Communion but knows "none of us will ever see heaven." He was around 77 at the time of the filming and as handsome and dynamic as ever. Daniel Craig does a phenomenal job as the vicious Connor.

Amid so many brilliant performances, Jude Law plays one of the most disturbing, frightening characters in film history, Harlen Maguire, a hit man who makes money not only by killing, but by photographing the dead victims and selling the photos, which adorn his wall. He's absolutely nauseating, and Law doesn't miss a beat. The always wonderful Stanley Tucci is Frank Nitti, and Jennifer Jason Leigh has a small role as Michael's wife. As Michael Jr., Tyler Hoechlin perfectly embodies all the emotions necessary for the role: the fear, anger, love, and loyalty. He and Hanks have the film's biggest roles, and they carry it, making it look easy.

This is a suspenseful, poignant, sad and violent masterpiece. One of the comments warns against comparing it to The Godfather - I hope nobody did this. It stands on its own, and one has nothing to do with the other. A great artistic achievement by Sam Mendes who worked with a beautifully realized script and top cast. Now that I've seen it, I can't believe it was so overlooked at the Oscars, but when I think of all the Oscars Newman has been cheated out of, I guess I'm not only surprised, but I've about had it with the Oscars.

I almost gave "Road to Perdition" a 9 instead of a 10 only because I'm not big on lots of blood. If you are, too, I suggest you watch it anyway. You won't be sorry. A powerful experience.

Sam Mendes's Road To Perdition reads like Oscar bait on the surface, but it's anything but once it gets down to business. Based on a downbeat graphic novel, it's a dark and tragic downward spiral of violence, betrayal and crime with beautifully acted characters and burnished, shadowy cinematography that brings the pages of the book to life in moody, snow blanketed detail. Tom Hanks, taking a chance and playing a rougher character for once in his goody two shoes career, is Michael Sullivan, enforcer for small town Irish mob boss John Rooney, played with force and feeling by Paul Newman in his final cinematic outing. Rooney treats Sullivan like a son, as his own offspring (Daniel Craig, cast way against type and loving it) is an insidious, hateful psychopath. After Craig needlessly murders a subordinate (Ciaran Hinds) and Sullivan's youngest son (Taylor Hoechlin, excellent) inadvertently witnesses it, Sullivan is left no choice but to go on the run after his wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and youngest child (Liam Aiken) are subsequently slaughtered. The rift that forms between Hanks and Newman is tough to watch, a paternal relationship soured by the ugliness of the lives they live, violence finding its way in and grabbing hold of any goodness that once was, like it always does. Forced to seek help from infamous Chicago gangster Frank Nitti (Stanley Tucci), Sullivan soon finds himself on his own and fast becoming a vigilante with a short life span amongst the underworld, especially when a dangerous assassin (a rodent like Jude Law) is dispatched to kill him. Sullivan knows his way around both a pistol and a tommy gun though, and won't go down in a hail without raising hellfire first. There's a calmness to the action scenes, the most hectic of which is accompanied by no sound effects whatsoever, just simply a lyrical piece of the score, cushioning the violence with mood instead of hammering us with the sound of bullets. It's a revenge piece, no doubt, but it's also a careful treatise on how a parent's actions and choices can affect their young, and in cases of extreme peril or trauma, sometimes bring them closer together where there once was distance. My only real issue with the film is the casting of Jennifer Jason Leigh, a unique, mesmerizing force on camera whose talents are wasted here in the throwaway wife role, getting to do basically nothing. There's a deleted scene featuring Anthony Lapaglia as lively Al Capone, which is not in the final film but can be found on YouTube. Hanks and Newman anchor the film respectively, as hard, determined men who would rather see things go in a more agreeable way, but have both left each other no choice other than willfully striding towards bitter ends. There's an eerie poetry in that which the film captures perfectly.