Road to Perdition

"Road to Perdition" is a 2002 American crime thriller film directed by "Sam Mendes". The film stars "Tom Hanks, Paul Newman (in his final live-action film role), Jude Law & Daniel Craig".

Watch the sequence. Is it effective or not?

 

Discuss

 

 

 

Watch it again:

 

 

Make some notes on the following aspects:

 

Sounds

 

Music

 

Light and shadow

 

Camera shots

 

Dialogue

 

Acting

 

In groups, talk about how the filmmakers combined these aspects together to make the scene effective.

The Road to Perdition

Genre

Science Fiction   /   Romance   /    Gangster    /      Mystery     /   Comedy    /    Documentary /   Drama    /     Fantasy      /      Period /     biography    /      horror      /  thriller  musical   /    historical  /  Western  /  Other

 

Setting

Time -

Place -

 

Main characters

 

Actors

 

Director

 

Plot

 

Adjectives to describe the images

 

Adjectives to describe the music

 

Adjectives to describe emotional effects on the audience 

Evaluating a work of art. What order should you do the following things so as to give a balanced evaluation?

Describe, Judge, Analyse, Interpret

How to write a film review

P1:

Introduce the film. Who directed it? Where/when is it set? Is it based on a book, a true story etc? What's the concept? Who are the stars? iSarummse the story (in the present tense!) but don't give away too much ("spoilers"). Briefly describe the style or distinctive features of the film, perhaps by comparing it to other well known films of its genre. Stay nreutal - don't say whether like or dislike the film.

P2:

alyseAn the film technically. You could mention and give examples of cinematography, special effects, CGI, lighting, locations, editing, use of music and sound. You can't talk about ethvyinerg so concentrate on what the film itself concentrates on. Which technical elements stand out most? If you want to, you can say briefly what works well and not so well technically and why, but don't be ngthley about this.

P3:

Analyse the story itself and the acting. Is there a particular apacproh being taken? What makes an actor's performance come off? Is it their stage prncesee? Their versatility? Their identification with the character? Why is the story told the way it is? Is there a narrator? Does the director apply the "show don't tell" rule? Are there ttswis in the plot? Again be careful not to "spoil" the film for people who haven't seen it yet.

P4:

Start to ierpretnt the film. Is there a message (intentional or niuonntential) behind it? Be critical if you like, but stay balanced. Is the film dealing with a certain issue or issues? What are its themes? What, if anything, does it lack?

Depending on the film you may want to focus on picractal questions like... Could it have been longer or shorter perhaps? Are the characters and situations too cteypirseotal? Did it get boring at any point? Was the ending pctablredie? Were some things just bad film making choices?

Or, if this is an "issues" film,  you may want to look at it from a particular pspecterive, such as class, gender, the environment, race, sexuality, marginalised groups etc.

Finally, just as P4 is the "crunch" of an essay, so it is in a review. You should save your strongest ideas for this paragraph and express them coidynfentl.

P5:

Judge the film as a whole. You can be frank about your opinions now, but do refer back to things you've already said in justifying your criticism and/or praise of the film.

Finish by giving it 1 to 5 stars.