I love mobster movies. I really do. There’s something so mysterious and untouchable and frightening about mobs and all that goes on in that world. I realize it’s very odd to hear me say that I like mobs and such, but there’s something so sinister about them and I long to see it in their eyes, to see that the pain they are causing affects them, or to catch a glimpse of mercy in their expression-less eyes. It’s that eternal chase for a sense of decency in them that drives me to want to continue to watch mob movies.

Road to Perdition isn’t your typical mob movie…well, it is, in that the mob are the central characters in the movie and they kill people, but that isn’t ALL this movie has to offer. What you will get from Road to Perdition is a heartbreaking story about a man who has to reconcile working for the mob while being a husband and raising 2 sons. This tension drives the movie all the way through and ultimately provides the backdrop for one of the most heart wrenching stories about a father and his son. There are a lot of movies historically that are about the father and son relationship and they are some of my most favorite movies. There’s just something about watching a father and son interact with each other on the screen through very crazy and difficult circumstances, circumstances that I’ll probably never go through with my Dad in reality, but underlying all of the fantastical situations, it’s essentially about a son wanting to be loved by his dad who, because of his choices in career and not having a dad himself, has to rationalize how to love his son amidst turmoil.

In this movie, Sam Mendes (the director) really goes to great lengths to expose the inner workings of a father-son relationship. At first, I didn’t really buy into the chemistry between Tom Hanks and his son’s, it just looked very cold and forced. And after watching the entire movie all the way through, I realized what a stroke of brilliance it was by Mendes to portray the earlier stages of Hanks’ relationships with his sons in that way, because it really amplified how the relationships took form later on. What took shape, though, was a very progressive and no-frills connection between Hanks and his oldest son Mike Jr., played quite averagely by young star Tyler Hoechlin. The love that they had was very much built upon the intense situations, but later was beautifully founded in how much they cared and looked out for each other. One of the more poignant scenes in the movie involved Mike Jr. feeding his wounded Dad, Hanks, and essentially taking care of him in a way he has never done before.

As I sat watching this movie, I found myself hoping that something BIG would happen that would just send me over the edge in how I felt about this movie…and when it came, I wasn’t totally surprised nor did I find myself reeled by it. This movie had some wonderful performances from Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, and Jude Law, and I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to watch a movie with mob violence and intense action that can touch you on a real personal level. Dad’s, you NEED to watch this movie…SONS, you ALSO need to watch this movie.

This movie is rated R for violence and language. There is a lot of mob violence and language you would associate with a mobster movie.

For Discussion: What other movies do you like that portray the father-son relationship?

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