Road to Perdition (2002, USA) C-117m. SCOPE *** D: Sam Mendes. Starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Daniel Craig, Tyler Hoechlin, Stanley Tucci, Sam Mendes. In the 1930s Hanks falls out of grace with his foster father Newman, a patriarch/mobster who rules an entire town, and ultimately has to take it on the lam with his little son. Engrossing drama, impressively directed by Mendes (AMERICAN BEAUTY), but broken down, story carries little weight and there are also problems of perspective (first person vs. omniscient narrator). A good film, though, whose stylistic flourishes and storytelling savvy make it worthwhile. Superb score by Thomas Newman, fine cinematography by Conrad Hall (his last).