Before his death in 2008, Netflix. Directed by Sam Mendes and based on a graphic novel by Max Allan Collins, Road to Perdition features Newman as a complex Irish mob boss who must reckon with family loyalty as well as his own sense of ethics.
Road to Perdition follows mob enforcer Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) as he and his son are forced to flee for their lives. After Mike's son witnesses his father and Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig) kill rival mobsters, the Sullivans are pursued by Mike's former crime syndicate, led by John Rooney (Newman). What makes Newman's performance so complex is his ability to communicate inner turmoil. In Newman, the audience sees the knowledge that his loyalty to his own son Connor is both necessary and problematic and the anguish at having to target his surrogate son, Mike.
After his star-making performance in 1956's Somebody Up There Likes Me, Paul Newman became a Hollywood staple. He turned in classic, renowned performances in The Hustler, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, Absence of Malice, and many more, earning 10 competitive Oscar nominations, including one win for reprising Fast Eddie Felson in The Color of Money. His last Academy Award nomination was for Best ing Actor for Road to Perdition, and it was well-earned.
The acclaim for Newman's work in Road to Perdition came as no surprise, as he runs the gamut of human emotion and embodies an archetypal feeling of fatherhood and grandfatherhood, which makes the violence he’s responsible for all the more chilling. Though his character is honest with himself about the murderous life he's led, he still seeks some semblance of honor, and the fractured relationship he has with his own son is tinged with tormented loyalty. It is this complexity that makes Newman's work in Road to Perdition so compelling.
His character's duality is best showcased in a scene in which John begins by beating Connor in anger, only to end up holding him in a tight hug. The loss of John's relationship with Mike further reinforces the regret he feels beset upon him by the path he's chosen. Newman beautifully bears these burdens throughout the film, exuding this torment in his every move.
Road to Perdition was not Newman's last film. Afterwards, he did some voice work, most notably as Doc Hudson in Pixar's Cars, and he had a comedic ing role in HBO's miniseries Empire Falls. Though his performance in 1994's Nobody's Fool was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award and features the best of Newman's easy charm, it is Road to Perdition that showcases Newman's range and abilities: he's at times dour and menacing, but always able to flash his classic smile in a character he imbues with complexity and humanity, which is why Road to Perdition was truly his last great performance.
