‘Road to Perdition’

1920s Boston-set mob thriller, director Sam Mendes’ follow up to his Oscar-winning American Beauty is a sombre affair, a storyline as cold as its wintery setting as mob-enforcer Tom Hanks finds himself on the run.

Having witnessed a killing, young Michael Sullivan Jnr places his family at risk. His father (Hanks), trusted general of the Irish mob headed by Paul Newman, is one of the two official assassins. Loose canon Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig), Newman’s son, is the other. To save himself and Junior, Sullivan hits the road needing to avoid hired killer, Maguire (Jude Law).

Visually beautiful in its wintery darkness, Road to Perdition is almost faultless in its craft yet sadly lacks sufficient empathy and emotion to accompany its narrative. Eminently watchable, instantly forgettable.

Nominated for 6 Oscars in 2003 including best supporting actor (Paul Newman), art direction, soundtrack – won 1 for best cinematography

Rating: 66%

Director: Sam Mendes (American Beauty, 1917)

Writer: David Self (Thirteen Days, The Wolfman) – based on the graphic novel by Max Allan Collins & Richard Piers Rayner

Main cast: Tom Hanks (Sully, Finch), Paul Newman (Hud, The Sting), Daniel Craig (Skyfall, Knives Out)

Cinematographer: Conrad L. Hall (American Beauty, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid)

‘The Boy, the Mole, the Fox & the Horse’ by Charlie Mackesy

It can take 30 minutes to read, it can take a lifetime. Charlie Mackesy’s beautifully illustrated book (using his own simple ink line drawings and based on his daily Instagram) is a simple delight, a tale of a lonely boy and his interaction with the animal kingdom. It’s a universal story of hope, of uncertainty, of understanding, of friendship – and, as far as the mole is concerned, preferably supplied with cake.

Isn’t it odd we can only see our outsides, but nearly everything happens on the inside.

It’s more fleeting, momentary than a story or fully-fledged narrative as the boy sets out and meets the various animals. Set in the inclement, ever changeable spring, it rains, snows and the sun shines strongly – a little like life. Mackesy sees himself (and us) as aspects of the four featured characters – the lonely, inquisitive boy; the slightly fearful but loyal mole; a predatorial yet wary fox and the solidity and simple ‘bigness’ of the horse.

It’s a tale for eight to eighty year olds, a book you can dip in and out of, open at the middle and read backwards or forwards.

What is the bravest thing you’ve ever said? asked the boy
Help said the horse.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox & the Horse is a humane, warm, charming distraction, a joyful, Winnie the Pooh-like concoction of mantras, philosophies and simple truths.

Sometimes I think you believe in me more than I do said the boy
You’ll catch up said the horse