Road to Perdition Essay

1019 Words5 Pages
“From the first time we see and hear him in the opening frame of the film, we know that Michael Sullivan Jnr. is going to be an important character whose journey (both physical and psychological) we will follow as the narrative unfolds.” With reference to a detailed textual analysis of the opening scenes of the film, to what extent do you think that this statement is true? The gangster movie Road to Perdition directed by Sam Mendes in 2001, is mainly centralised and focused on one character in particular, Michael Sullivan Jr. By the way the film portrays the young boy we can see that he is is different from the crowd. In this essay I will begin to explain and analyse this by exploring the opening scenes of the movie and later go on to give explanations as to why I think this. In the opening scene of the film young Michael Sullivan Jr. is filmed from behind looking out onto an empty horizon on the shore of a beach. The synzhet starts with the ending at the beginning which is a good way to start the story with everything peaceful at the beach but it isn’t all as it seems when the movie progresses. By listening to the commentary voiceover of Sullivan talking we know he is going to be a main role in the film as he says ‘..but I once spent 6 weeks on the road with him in the winter of 1931, this is our story.’ This is very clear and lets the viewer know he is going to be a vital role in the gangster movie. Furthermore, Sullivan Jr’s face is kept out of shot, only his back and the view he has is shown which gave me the interpretation that he is alone and there is no one there to help him and this later goes onto be true because the same scene is repeated at the end of the film. The following scene shows Sullivan Jr. is different and it also expresses his presence by the way Sam Mendes shows our encounter with the young child. The
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