WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2002
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN =25
KRTPHOTO
Tom Hanks plays a flawed father in Road to Perdition. Hanks and Paul Newman play members of the 1930s Irish mob.
Hankstakes on different role in 'Road to Perdition'
CHICAGO (AP) — Tom Hanks just can't convince anyone that he is a bad man.
He knows he's only talking about Michael Sullivan, the murderous character he played in Road to Perdition, which opened Friday. But still. This movie is supposed to be his challenge to the heart-of-gold-image that follows him wherever his movies go. The idea that Sullivan is merely a Hanks hero in disguise - yet another in the long line of sweet romantics, sensitive millennial males, a wily baseball coach, a brave astronaut, a noble simpleton, a good-humored castaway, a World War II savior — is a notion he wants to dispute.
Pretty ironclad it is, as disguises go. Sullivan is an unrelenting enforcer for the Irish mob in and around Depression-era Chicago. But there is also a close brush, some would say a full-on encounter, with redemption for the hit man in his quest to save his young son.
"Heroism is totally in the eye of the beholder," Hanks said. "There are different brands, and, in this case, to what end? There is no moment in this movie when the audience leaps to its feet and cheers. 'He's done it!' There's something joyless about what happens in the last three murders; no, it's more like the last eight."
Hanks, in town to talk about the movie, stared out the window at some of the skyline's historic outcropings — the art deco Tribune Tower, the Victorian piles along LaSalle Street and the landmark Wrigley Building that served as backdrops for many of the film's violent events — as if demanding corroboration from them.
"It is," he said "the opposite of heroism."
Sullivan's wife and younger son are slaughtered by the double-crossing son of the gangster, a terrifying Paul Newman, Sullivan works for. The survivors set off across a chilly, dangerous, suddenly inhospitable Midwestern landscape, both pursued and pursuing, to seek vengeance for the deaths. "The real hero," Hanks said, "would have to be the boy, his son, if he's able to put all this behind him. Understanding that his father's way is not the way to live takes a certain fortitude and character."
But where Hanks sees implacable menace in Sullivan — Hanks and his longtime makeup artist, Daniel Striepeke, even built up his endearing ski slope of a nose into a harsh beak to enhance the impression - director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) sees a conflicted soul. In an early scene, Sullivan confronts a scummy nightclub owner over tardy kickbacks, and a death sentence is in his eyes.
"There's a combination of strength and vulnerability, a kind of pity in Sullivan's expression," said Mendes. "You sense a burden of guilt but also a rage. Those two things needed to coexist in every shot. What a great film actor can do, and Tom does it, is become a prism that throws out five colors at once."
But Mendes also believes that for Hanks, the role of a less-than-perfect father coming to terms with a reluctant, inarticulate love for his son goes beyond acting.
It was his need to follow his own road, to the past and his relationship with his father, Amos Hanks.
College life can be challenging Banking should be simple.
New roommates.Class schedules.Exams Dorm food.Research papers Your life is about to get a lot more complicated The last thing you need is a checking account with a lot of hassles.That's why Emprise Bank has FREE CHECKING No minimum balances.No monthly fees Unlimited check writing.ATM and check cards And Emprise Access Internet and Telephone Banking means you can keep track of your account from anywhere (even South Padre.)
Why not go ahead and check us out. Just open your account with $100 or more. We'll even throw in your first box of checks for free* when you mention this ad. So at least one thing in your life is a no-brainer.
WWW.EMPRISEBANK.COM (785) 749-0800 2435 IOWA ST.·23RD & HASKELL
We understand the daily business of life. $ ^{\circ} $
*Emprise Custom Design
---