History Film / RoadToPerdition

A 2002 film, directed by Creator/SamMendes, based on the comic of the same name by Max Allan Collins (itself inspired by the manga ''Manga/LoneWolfAndCub''). [[TheIrishMob Mobster]] Michael Sullivan (Creator/TomHanks), and his son (Creator/TylerHoechlin) who followed him to work, witness the mob boss (Creator/PaulNewman)'s son Connor (Creator/DanielCraig) shoot a fellow employee ([[Creator/CiaranHinds Ciarán Hinds]]) for [[StealingFromTheTill embezzling from]] the gang.

A 2002 film, directed by Creator/SamMendes, based on the comic of the same name by Max Allan Collins (itself inspired by the manga ''Manga/LoneWolfAndCub''). [[TheIrishMob Mobster]] Michael Sullivan (Creator/TomHanks), and his son (Creator/TylerHoechlin) who followed him to work, witness the mob boss (Creator/PaulNewman)'s son Connor (Creator/DanielCraig) shoot a fellow employee ([[Creator/CiaranHinds Ciarán Hinds]]) for [[StealingFromTheTill embezzling from]] TheSyndicate.

* TheMafia: While most of the movie is about TheIrishMob, the largely Italian-American gang called the Chicago Outfit are the real power of the underworld, and appear as [[GreaterScopeVillain Greater Scope Villains]].

* ArtImitatesArt: Sam Mendes and cinematographer Conrad L. Hall sought to give the film the look of the works of Creator/EdwardHopper.

* TheMafia: While most of the movie is about TheIrishMob, the Chicago-based Italian American crime syndicate led by Capone is the real power in the underworld, and appear as [[GreaterScopeVillain Greater Scope Villains]].

* GreasySpoon: The Michael Sullivans ''very narrowly'' avoid an assassination attempt in one of these. Michael Sr. even small-talks with a waitress who brings his fried chicken and coffee, and Maguire—posing as an IntrepidReporter—also orders coffee with [[SweetTooth an enormous heaping of sugar]]. While Michael Sr. and his son just barely escape, Maguire kills a cop who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Later, they divide up the money they got from RobbingTheMobBank in another diner, and when asked what they do for a living, Michael Jr. [[SarcasticConfession bluntly says they're bank robbers, but this is taken as a joke]].

** On an even greater scope, there's Nitti's own boss, Al Capone, who is so far removed from the events of the story that he [[UltimateEvil never even appears in-person]].

* UltimateEvil: Capone is deliberately kept off-camera to evoke a greater sense of mystery. A scene with him was filmed, but was left out of the final cut, despite the director admitting he loved the performance.

* TheDragon: Michael was this to John Rooney before the film.

** Maguire's plot-irrelevant crime scene photography, showing him as an entirely amoral ice-cold killer when he finishes off the NotQuiteDead victim.

* GreasySpoon: The Michael Sullivans ''very narrowly'' avoid an assassination attempt in one of these. Michael Sr. even small-talks with a waitress who brings his fried chicken and coffee, and Maguire—posing as an IntrepidReporter—also orders coffee with [[SweetTooth an enormous heaping of sugar]]. While Michael Sr. and his son just barely escape, Maguire kills a cop who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Later, they divide up the money they got from RobbingTheMobBank in another diner, and when asked what they do for a living, Michael Jr. bluntly says they're bank robbers, but this is taken as a joke.

** The shootout in the rain.

** The innocence of a son is surpassed only the father's will to save it.

* ArtImitatesArt: Sam Mendes and cinematographer Conrad L. Hall sought to give the film the look of the works of artist Edward Hopper.

* UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}: Much of the second act of the film takes place here as Michael seeks help from Capone (via Nitti) to get revenge on Connor.

** Also done earlier by Annie moments before Connor shoots her and Peter, all also off-screen.

* FilmNoir

* MohsScaleOfViolenceHardness: It rates a pretty light 7, mainly due to [[spoiler:Calvino's (Creator/DougSpinuzza)]] headshot and maybe a couple of other acts of violence. Most of the violent murders and killings take place either offscreen or in a very subdued manner, so the effect is more artistic than gruesome.

* OhCrap: Sullivan when he reads the message from the Rooneys that if Tony kills him, his debts will be paid; Sullivan then realizes that one of the Rooneys (Connor specifically) has targeted his son and frantically tries to call home.

* AdaptationDistillation: The comic's author himself approves of many of the changes, like having the Sullivans contend with a single assassin instead of various random {{Mook}}s, with the exception of the slightly more upbeat ending. The book is mostly a grim, pulpy odyssey of stylishly bloody death, the film has a more serene tone with violence kept to a minimum.

** In the comic, [[spoiler:however, Michael Jr. averts this, killing at least two of the mooks that come after them]].

* OhCrap: Sullivan when he reads the message from the Rooneys that if Tony kills Frank, his debts will be paid; Sullivan then realizes that one of the Rooneys (Connor specifically) has targeted his son and frantically tries to call home.

* GreasySpoon: The Michael Sullivans ''very narrowly'' avoid an assassination attempt in one of these. Michael Sr. even small-talks with a waitress who brings his fried chicken and coffee, and Maguire—posing as an IntrepidReporter—also orders coffee with [[SweetTooth an enormous heaping of sugar]]. While Michael Sr. and his son just barely escape, Maguire kills a cop who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They also divide up the money they got from RobbingTheMobBank in another diner, and when asked what they do for a living, Michael Jr. bluntly says they're bank robbers, but this is taken as a joke.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Unintentional example. Harlen Maguire is introduced killing an attempted murder victim for still surviving the initial stabbing. But only seconds before, the attempted murderer is taken away repeating "he raped my wife." Not that Maguire would have cared either way, but the victim's vigilante justice was not totally unfounded.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Unintentional example. Harlen Maguire is introduced killing an attempted murder victim for still surviving the initial stabbing. But only seconds before, the attempted murderer is taken away repeating “he raped my wife.” Not that Maguire would have cared either way, but the victim’s vigilante justice was not totally unfounded.

* PlotTriggeringDeath: Connor’s impulsive murder of Finn [=McGovern=], which is witnessed by Michael Sullivan Jr., starts a chain of events that results in the decimation of the Rooney crime family.

** Maguire's introduction where he [[spoiler:finishes off a dying victim he found at a bloody crime scene]] is scored with a peppy, old-timey Dixieland jazz number.

* ContractOnTheHitman: In the second act of the film, John Rooney puts a hit out on Michael because he knows that Michael won’t stop until Connor is dead.

* DiesWideOpen: When one of Finn [=McGovern’s=] men falls dead after Michael Sr. guns him down, he falls so that his eyes are looking right at the (concealed) Michael Jr.

** In the comic, [[spoiler:however, Michael Jr. averts this; killing at least two of the mooks that come after them]].

** Harlen Maguire has no problem with trying to kill Michael Jr. either.

->''"There is only one guarantee -- none of us will see heaven."''

** The comic [[spoiler:subverts this -- Michael arrives to find them both dead, and immediately gets shot as well.]]

* CurbstompBattle: The final shootout between Michael Senior and [[spoiler:Rooney's bodyguards.]] He doesn't even get a scratch on him.

** ItsPersonal -- [[spoiler:During the exchange of gunfire in Rance's hotel suite, Michael shoots a glass lamp, which shatters and the fragments leave lots of nasty cuts on the left side of Maguire's face.]]
* DepthDeception: Michael Jr. approaches the front door of his house, seeing Connor approaching [[spoiler: after he has killed his mother and brother]], and freezes when Connor appears to stare directly at him through the door's window, but it turns out [[spoiler: Connor was actually looking at his own reflection.]] After Michael realizes this, he has time to hide before Connor leaves the house.
* ElementalMotfifs: Water is often used to symbolise death:
** [[spoiler:Michael kills Connor in the bath]].
** [[spoiler:Michael kills Rooney and his henchmen in the rain]].
** [[spoiler:Michael and Maguire kill each other in a house near the sea]].
* ElevatorActionSequence: Subverted twice with the same players each time. When Michael is trying to leave Frank Nitti's hotel in a hurry, one of Nitti's burly goons follows him into an elevator...but Michael immediately slips out again right before the door closes. The second time, [[spoiler:when he's hunting Connor, Nitti's goons just step aside and let him through.]]
* EpunymousTitle: Michael ''is'' on the way to irrevocably dooming his soul to hell... but he's also driving to a town called Perdition.

* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler: Rooney, who as his mooks are gunned down around him simply stands there and awaits his fate, before looking Michael in the eye and saying...]]

** Connor kills Michael Sr.'s wife, and son Peter, as Annie is getting Peter ready for a bath.

** [[spoiler: Michael Sr. and Maguire shoot each other dead in a house right by a lake. Big windows facing the water make the point very clear.]]
* FriendlyEnemy: Michael and the elder Rooney. To an extent, this is also true of Michael and the Capone organization, [[RobbingTheMobBank whose money he's stealing in an attempt to force them to end their protection of Connor]], but they (or at least, Nitti) completely understand why he's doing what he's doing, and would sort of like to be on his side. [[spoiler:Once the elder Rooney is out of the picture, they happily step aside and allow Michael to get his revenge on Connor]].
* GetawayDriver: Michael teaches his son to become one for him when they start RobbingTheMobBank to force Capone to give up Connor. It doesn't work in the long run because of course Michael Jr drives a very slow getaway car at first.
* GoryDiscretionShot: Subverted. Michael shoots [[spoiler:Connor]] in his bath; we see Michael through the bathroom doorway, but his victim is off-camera. Then the bathroom door swings shut, and we see—reflected in the mirror on the bathroom door—the victim slumped in the bathtub, with his brains blown over the bathroom wall. Played straight with the death of [[spoiler:the elder Rooney.]]
* TheHeroDies:[[spoiler: Michael Sr. himself at the end.]]

* HopeSpot: Jr. and Sr. arrive at their relatives' beach house, [[spoiler: with John and Connor both dead. Too bad nobody told the hitman who was chasing them.]]

-->You think you're so smart? You think we don't know? I mean you’ve been spending all that time in Chicago--[BoomHeadshot]
* KillEmAll: [[spoiler: Every named non-historical character dies except Michael the younger (and John Looney in the comic).]]

* MoralEventHorizon: [[invoked]]This is almost the exact meaning of "perdition" - being doomed to go to hell once and for all, with no chance of salvation (hence Rooney's "none of us will see heaven").

--> '''John Rooney:''' [[VillainHasAPoint There are only murderers in this room!]] Michael! Open your eyes! This is the life we chose, the life we lead. And there is only one guarantee - none of us will see heaven.

* TheOner: Late in the film, when [[spoiler:Michael goes to kill Connor, the camera tracks him from his arrival on the 14th floor, down the hall, through Connor's room and into the bathroom where Michael gives Connor a BoomHeadshot. As Michael leaves the room, the camera halts but the door moves to show Connor's corpse in the bathtub]].

-->'''Rooney''': I curse the '''''fucking day''''' you were born.
* PrettyLittleHeadshots: Subverted with [[spoiler:Connor]]'s death - when we see the body, his actual ''head'' is pretty clean, but there's a massive splatter of blood across the wall behind him.

** The Looney Family from the comic (and from real life) became the Rooney family for the movie.
** Likewise the O'Sullivans became the Sullivans.

* SweetTooth: Maguire pouring about half a cup of sugar into his coffee. And, well, look what it does to his teeth...

* ThouShaltNotKill

** In the comic, [[spoiler: however, Michael Jr. averts this; killing at least two of the mooks that come after them.]]

* YouShouldHaveDiedInstead: Michael Jr. believes this is how his father feels about him. [[spoiler: He is wrong.]]

* GetawayDriver: Michael teaches his son to become one for him when they start RobbingTheMobBank to force Capone to give up Connor. RealityEnsues because of course Michael Jr drives a very slow getaway car at first.

* PlotTriggeringDeath: Connor’s impulsive murder of Finn [=McGovern=], which is witnessed by Michael Sullivan Sr., starts a chain of events that results in the decimation of the Rooney crime family.

* MohsScaleOfViolenceHardness: It rates a pretty light 7, mainly due to [[spoiler:Calvino's (Doug Spinuzza)]] headshot and maybe a couple of other acts of violence. Most of the violent murders and killings take place either offscreen or in a very subdued manner, so the effect is more artistic than gruesome.

-->”You think you’re so smart? You think we don’t know? I mean you’ve been spending all that time in Chicago-“ [BoomHeadshot]

* HopeSpot: Jr. and Sr. arrive at their relatives' beach house, [[with John and Connor both dead. Too bad nobody told the hitman who was chasing them.]]

* ContractOnTheHitman: