Samuel Alexander (Sam) Mendes is an English director who is best known for producing films such as American Beauty, Skyfall, Spectre, and The Road to Perdition, which are movies that are a part of different genres. The Road to Perdition is a movie that looks at the life of a mobster, Mike Sullivan, and his quest to seek revenge on the man who murdered his family, and get his son to his aunt’s house, in a town called Perdition. In this movie, Mendes uses the characters of Michael and Mike Sullivan, as well as the relationship between the two, to show that although the desire to seek revenge is a primal response when a member of one’s “tribe” has been harmed (Frauley), revenge is an addictive indulgence that should not be confused with justice
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To begin with, Mike is an enforcer of the Irish Mob, and is employed by Mr. Rooney, his adoptive father. Therefore, he murders those who are disloyal to the mob. For example, when a member named Finn McGovern denounces Mr.Rooney for the unjust murder of his brother, Mike is sent to go “talk” to him, Connor (Mike’s adoptive brother) kills McGovern (Mendes,The Road to Perdition 13:30-25:45). Moreover, as soon as Mike finds out that his family is murdered, he immediately leaves to go kill the murderer and get his son to the town of Perdition (Mendes,The Road to Perdition 43:30). There is no scene which shows Mike planning what he would do. He cries, and then immediately gets up and goes to see the underboss of Al Capone, to work for him and be able to find Connor’s location (to kill him), (Mendes,The Road to Perdition 43:30). From then on, the entire plot is driven by revenge. Sullivan is trying to find Connor, and Rooney has ordered a hit on Mike. Sullivan then spends a great part of the time trying to escape from the hitman, Harlen Maguire. Therefore,the characters’ primal response to something happening that affects them negatively, is to immediately seek revenge, in this case ordering hits, and going after someone to kill
To begin with, Mike is an enforcer of the Irish Mob, and is employed by Mr. Rooney, his adoptive father. Therefore, he murders those who are disloyal to the mob. For example, when a member named Finn McGovern denounces Mr.Rooney for the unjust murder of his brother, Mike is sent to go “talk” to him, Connor (Mike’s adoptive brother) kills McGovern (Mendes,The Road to Perdition 13:30-25:45). Moreover, as soon as Mike finds out that his family is murdered, he immediately leaves to go kill the murderer and get his son to the town of Perdition (Mendes,The Road to Perdition 43:30). There is no scene which shows Mike planning what he would do. He cries, and then immediately gets up and goes to see the underboss of Al Capone, to work for him and be able to find Connor’s location (to kill him), (Mendes,The Road to Perdition 43:30). From then on, the entire plot is driven by revenge. Sullivan is trying to find Connor, and Rooney has ordered a hit on Mike. Sullivan then spends a great part of the time trying to escape from the hitman, Harlen Maguire. Therefore,the characters’ primal response to something happening that affects them negatively, is to immediately seek revenge, in this case ordering hits, and going after someone to kill