Figure 1.--Here is the Sullivan family at the beginning of the film. The boys do not know their father is a gangster. The boys and their parents are attending a viewing of a corpse. Both wear knicker suits.

"Road to Perdition" is a powerful drama that deals with the emotions of various father and sons, detailing the final days of the Sullivan family. A must see, if not for the acting and story, but for the 1930s period clothing and set designs. The "Road to Perdition" was released in 2002 with many reviewers raveing about the film. The production values are truly excellent and there are some find performances. Some reviewrs object to the violence and consider the production rather over-reaching. A HBC reader was impressed with the camera work. Everything about the film felt authentic, and even the acting was solemn and subtle, but never boring. One of the leads, Michael Jr., is a boy. His father Mike Sullivan is a gangland enforcer. He allows the boy to join the family business when when his mob boss and son come after him. The film is set in the 1930s and the period costuming is excellent. From cold weather gear, to every day attire, to "dress up"/Sunday Best clothes, to pajamas, collars and shirt prints, etc. The boys wear knickers in the film, however, short pants are pictured in the original book illustrations.

Filmology

It was directed by Sam Mendes.

Cast

Road to Perdition starred Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, and Tyler Hoechlin.

Graphic Novel

Based pon the graphic novel (comic book) by Max Allen Collins and Richard Piers Rayner.

Setting

The film is set in the winter during 1931. It is loacated in Illinois and other Midwestern states.

Cast

Road to Perdition is the story of Michael Sullivan, Sr. (Mike as he's referred to from the start, and played by Tom Hanks), an enforced for gangster John Rooney (Paul Newman) as recounted by 12 year old Michael, jr. (Tyler Hoechin).

Figure 2.--Here Michael Jr. plays with a dog at his aunt's beach=front home right before the climatic scene. He wear a shirt and grey knickers. In the graphic novel the film is base on, he wore short pants. I'm not sure why the costumer made this change.

Plot

The film is about the relationship between a gangster (played by Tom Hanks) and his 12-year old eldest son, Michael Sullivan Jr. (played by Tyler Hoechlin). Michael is your typical boy, who doesn't know what his father does for a living; he only knows that he works for "Uncle John Rooney" and he carries a gun. Michael thinks his father might be like his favorite fictional radio and comic book hero--The Lone Ranger. One night while reading after "lights out," and prompted by his younger brother, Michael, jr. decides to discover for himself what exactly his father does. Michael stows away in the hollow back seat of the family car one night as Mike and Rooney's son, Conner, head for a job. Through a crack in the wooden factory doors, Michael witnesses a "talk" gone bad; Conner Rooney shoots a man in the head, forcing Mike to open fire with his tommy-gun on the victim's goons. Conner sees someone watching from the crack, and Mike rushes out to investigate, only to find his frightened son. Mike forces Michael to swear never to reveal what the boy witnessed. However Conner, seeking to cover up the fact that he is embezzling from his father, begins to plot against Mike, eventually murdering Mike's wife and youngest son and forcing the Sullivans to flee for their lives. Dad sets out to get the guy. He is well in the mob and his protected by Al Capone. He decides the only way to get his man is to rob banks were Capone's dirty money has been deposited. It is then that the boy helps his dad to do this by being the get away driver. He only takes the mobster's money. This activity does not make the Capone gang happy. A strange hit man is hired to get him and his son. Throughout the film he is hot on their trail. After Michael Senior killed the guy who murdered his wife and son he takes his son to the beach-front home of his aunt. Michael Junior briefly plays with a dog at the beach (figure 2). Dad goes into the house. The hired Killer is waiting there and shoots him. The boy hears the shots rushes indoors. He sees his dad lying on the floor. He points a revolver at the killer but he can't pull the trigger. The assassin goes towards him with the intention of murdering him too. However, dad has not quite bought it. He raises his gun and with his last dying breath shoots the assassin dead. The hired killer took photographs of his dead victums. He had set the camera up to do just that on this occasion (figure 3). The ending would have been quite different if he'd finished the assignment. Thus leaving his son decent and untarnished with the potential to start living a good life outside the crime family.

Assessment

Road to Perdition is a wonderful piece of cinema set during the prohibition-era gangster period of the United States. Thematically, it concentrates upon father/son relationships; the movie is embued with maleness, and even the restrained, subtle acting is a aimed at demonstrating that which defined a man especially in the 1930s; men hide their emotions, and are hesitant to express their love for each other except through small gestures or desperate actions. Great care was given to even the smallest detail of set, lighting, cinematography, and costuming.

Figure 3.-- In the shot supplied here from the end of the movie, the boy's father has just shot and killed the sinister killer played by Jude Law (he lies dead on the kitchen floor). Michael had a gun, but could not bing himself to pull the triger. His dieing father managed to shoot the killer. The hired killer took photographs of his dead victums. He had set the camera up to do just that on this occasion. The ending would have been quite different if he'd finished the assignment. Note that the boy wears grey knickers with suspenders, a long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up, grey knee-length socks with red turn-over tops, and high-top shoes.

Costuming

All the men wear suits and ties, woolen overcoats and fedoras. All of the boys wear knickers (except a pudgy fellow in the only classroom scene, who wears long trousers), button down shirts with ties, ankle high "dress" boots, and knee socks; also seen with either v-neck sweaters or suit jacket, woolen overcoats, and Irish caps (with snap). Since the narrator is 12 year old Michael, jr. (Tyler Hoechin), the opening shot of the film is just the teaser to a film full of meticulous detail of period American boys clothing of the 1930s. Michael is standing on a beach as the tide rolls in, the sun is shining and we at his back. The camera pulls closer to him. He is wearing brown flannel knickers, dark gray knee socks with red tops (like modern thermal hunting socks), boots and a white button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up, red suspenders of the period (more like Y-shaped tapers). Narration begins.

The costuming of the boys is quite different in the graphic novel on which the film is based and the movie itself. The graphic novel Road to Perdition shows Michael, Jr. wearing short trousers throughout, and not knickers. This is not an error in detail the author missed, but the fact that the artist, Richard Piers Rayner, who illustrated the work is British, and in keeping with his envisioning of the period in which British boys wore shorts and not knickers, he drew Michael wearing short trousers. The films depiction of knickers it more accurate for America in the 1930s, at least for the Sullivan's social class. We are not sure to what extent this issue was discussed by the producer and costume designer.

The filmed version of Road to Perdition shows varying knicker outfits both at home and at school. We believe that this is an accurate depiction for a boy Michael Jr.'s age from an Irish Catholic family in the 1930s. In one scene at a wake, the boys are wearing their "Sunday best." After the opening narration, we see the story begin to unfold, with Michael, Jr. pedaling his bicycle through the snow covered streets as he sells newspapers; he is wearing brown knickers (buckles or buttons are never clearly seen), a gray wool overcoat, gray scarf around his face and either brown or dark gray kneesocks. After delivering to a store where Michael pockets some tobacco for his pipe (which he smokes as he cycles home), Michael returns home and is knocked down by a snowball thrown by his younger brother, Peter. Peter wears brown knickers and tan knee socks. Later that evening, as Peter and Michael, Jr. concentrate on their homework, it is clearly seen that both are wearing sweaters. Michael's is a rust colored pull-over with collar (lapels?); he wears a blue button-down shirt with either small embroidered flower pattern or embroidered dots, worn with a dark red tie. The lighting of most of the film is dark and or shadowy, and most colors are washed away. Near the films end, with sunny brightness, we see that the brown knickers actually have a light pattern of red if not yellow woven into the fabric. The same dark gray knee socks, with dark red (maroon?) tops that are not turned over are worn in at least the classroom scene and as the stockings of choice when father and son begin their road trip.

One extended scene, where the family attends a wake for one of John Rooney's henchmen, the Sullivan boys are wearing their Sunday Best again. Knicker suits with diamond pattern (if not argyle, for several colors are discerned) knee socks. The suits are either dark blue, gray or black, depending on the boy. All other boys attending the wake are also seen wearing knicker suits. White shirts with suit jacket and dark ties finish the attire. The small (thin) collars on the shirts button tightly around the knot in the ties.

Other clothes seen in detail: sleepwear: Michael, jr. wear long sleeve and long pants flannel pajamas of white with faded blue vertical stripes, the shirt has lapels and he wears with it buttoned at the neck. When on the road, it is the pajama bottoms (if these are not borrowed from the farmer who offers them an oasis), with a white, short sleeve Henley undershirt (like long underwear with 2 or 3 buttons on the chest at collar opening). When younger brother Peter is being toweled off from his bath, he is wearing only his very long blue (knee length, with pattern) boxer shorts. Hair cuts are plain short back and sides, side parts.

With the exception of the one classroom scene, all boys are wearing knicker suits, mostly brown. There are many close up shots of Michael, Jr. and his wardrobe, however the lighting does cause for some problems with discerning some details (and a second viewing is required to take notes, as it were), but the viewer can sense the authenticity and meticulous attention to detail that went into the costume design. According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, many of the suits were made by Chicago-based clothiers.

Reader Comments

A reader writes, "The reviewer of "Road to Perdition" wrote a splendidly descriptive review and presentation." Another reder writes, "A very entertaining but questionable film. Its ending keeping true to the maxine that 'Crime does not pay.'"

Jeffery Stadt

The initial draft was submitted by Jeffery Stadt

Created: July 17, 2002
Last updated: December 4, 2003