Sam Mendes' Road To Perdition takes place in era I am quite familiar with The Depression - though I am a 29 year old Malaysian, not a 90 year old American. The term depression is probably recognisable among the corporate slaves as an excuse for lagging in their performance, but for dreamers like me, they represent probably one of the most interesting period in American History. Not that I know many.

Being enamoured with gangster movies, I was taken to reading about Al Capone, the Murder Inc and its successors. All those names; Capone, Siegel, Luciano, Nitti, Meyer, stayed in my tongue for so long. They triggered countless discussions with friends and relatives about this great era. I am also guilty of purchasing and borrowing several books on them. So, watching these films, say like The Godfather series, Scorceses gangster trilogy, and smaller flicks like Hoodlum and Coppolas Cotton Club was a huge treat.

Road to Perdition (hereafter known as Perdition, you freakin' lawyers) is a revelation. It is a revelation that the dry season of the 90's in Hollywood has ended and great time is about to emerge. Sam Mendes, a British director who gave the American audience American Beauty, came back strong, again putting America under his microscope and identifying the most troubled period in its history - depression.

Tom Hanks plays Michael Sullivan, a hitman or henchman for a big Irish mobster, John Rooney, played by Paul Newman. They are like father and son ever since Sullivan was picked up when he was an orphaned boy. Rooney's own son, Connor, does not appreciate their closeness. In jealous rage, Connor kills Sullivan's wife and son. Another son, bearing Sullivan's name survives and he relates the whole movie. Wait, shouldn't I have said that earlier?

Never mind. The point is this: The movie is mainly about father and son relationship. Period. There might be some deep psychological examination to be made, but when there are abundance of good performance and great cinematography, I leave that to second or third viewing. Such is the power Perdition possesses.

I was never a Tom Hanks fan, so please don't think of me being biased when I say this - does he has to be that funereal? Serious, unsmiling, Sullivan is also supposed to he some sort of good father. Hanks seemed to have misread the role somewhere. But during some fun moments, he shines. There are traces of Tom Hanks, the good comedian here and there, and I welcome that wholeheartedly. I had always liked him when he was doing comedies.

There is also Jude Law, who plays an assassin whose part time obsession is to shoot his own victims with camera. The good looking actor is made to look ugly here, and he really enjoys his role. You gotta keep an eye on this young man. He is certainly one actor whose career would be of interest to audience, critic and Academy voters alike.

Now, let us talk about Paul Newman. Ah, what an actor. What an actor, he really is. I have no words to describe his talent as of this moment. His screentime here is not much as compared to Hanks, but to me, he is THE man. In one of his recent interviews, he complained about the lack of good screenplays. "Its dry, out there," he said. In fact, he mentioned that if he can get a really good movie, it would be a swan song for the 77-year-old veteran. This might be it, and it fears me that Perdition might be his last movie. No, Mr. Newman, we want more. You still have the fire in you. Keep it burning till your last breath.

There are some implausible moments in the movie, like the bank heist. But if you go past that, you can settle down and enjoy one of the greatest mowing down of bad guys in the history of gangster movies. I hope I don't regret making this statement.

I am seriously expecting Perdition to win a couple of awards next year. I will not be surprised if Hanks is nominated. I will definitely be surprised if Newman is recognised. How many still remember him, for god's sake?

Otherwise, Mendes deserves a statuette and so does the cinematographer Conrad L. Hall. Both had done a commendable job in delivering the nostalgia right in front of our eyes. And the use of rain had never been so romantic and intriguing of recent years. I now have hopes for Hollywood for many more good productions.