Review: 'Road to Perdition' scenic trip nowhere

There's little there there in beautifully done movie

(CNN) -- The old saying goes "the road to hell is paved with good intentions," and sadly, that's the case with the new film "Road to Perdition."

Exquisitely mounted by director Sam Mendes, stunningly photographed by cinematographer Conrad L. Hall, and featuring outstanding performances by Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law and Tyler Hoechlin, "Road to Perdition" nevertheless feels strangely hollow at its emotional core.

Let there be no mistake: This is a big, important movie -- and if you don't believe me, just let the film tell you. It will, over and over again.

However, this momentousness is an illusion. One problem is that while the themes of the film are gigantic -- Shakespearean in their depth and scope -- the actual story itself (based on a graphic novel) just can't bear the weight.

"Road to Perdition" wants to be a family saga on a level with "The Godfather," dealing with such issues as love and redemption, loyalty and honor, fear and violence, and the inescapable, utterly complicated bonds between fathers and sons.

But while these deeply human issues are touched upon, they're never fully explored, and that undermines the sense of greatness to which this movie obviously aspires. Ultimately, the canvas is too small to contain an epic.

Violence in the family

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Set in Depression-era Illinois, "Road To Perdition" begins with a gangland funeral, where we meet the principal players.

Michael Sullivan (Hanks) is a hit man for an Irish mob controlled by John Rooney (Newman). Sullivan and his wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) have two sons, Michael Jr. (Hoechlin) and Peter (Liam Aiken). Both boys are desperate to gain their father's love and approval.

Sullivan himself looks for approval to Mr. Rooney, who raised him and has, in effect, adopted Sullivan. However, Rooney's real son, Connor (Daniel Craig), is a vicious malcontent whose jealousy over his father's love for Sullivan drives him mad.

When Sullivan Jr. inadvertently witnesses a gang hit committed by his father and Connor, the powder keg between the two men ignites. The actions that follow set fathers and sons on a collision course that can only end in death and tragedy.

An empty vessel

"Road To Perdition" coulda-shoulda been a much more complex and satisfying film. If everyone involved in this project had brought their Oscars to work, they'd have had to rent a special trailer to hold them all.

Everything about this production aches to be Academy-worthy. The grand score by Academy Award winner Thomas Newman soars, the costumes by Academy Award winner Albert Wolsky perfectly evoke the period, and with the aforementioned cinematography by two-time Academy Winner Hall, the film is a masterpiece in many ways.

That's why it's all the more disturbing that a vapid sense of emptiness pervades where the film's soul should reside. Newman and Hanks are low-key to the point where they're hardly breathing. Craig, as the "bad seed" son, is one-dimensional to the extreme. Leigh's part is never realized in the least, and the only character you can connect with at all is the young Sullivan -- and that attachment is tenuous at best.

Mendes tries valiantly to infuse this film with a sense of purpose. He and Hall fill frame after frame with gorgeous, perfectly composed images -- but in the end, they overpower the weak storyline. It's happened before and it will happen again: If your story is lacking, then dazzle the audience with fancy footwork.

Add an ending that is too pat to be believed, brought about by a stunningly false plot point, and you have a big, beautiful, flawed film. At its heart, nobody's home in this soggy family saga.