Lake Michigan has sandy beaches

I am amazed at the overwhelmingly positive reviews of Road to Perdition over at Rotten Tomatoes and on IMDb. This was po-faced, self-important and plot-light. Almost literally nothing of note happened for the first 40 minutes except an extended wake and hootenanny which was supposed to set up the rest of the film but instead had me itching for a better script and editing. There was a scene with dice to show us that Rooney was essentially The Godfather (with orange skin in his mouth) and a lingering shot of bad Connor exhaling cigarette smoke to show that he must be bad because he smokes. Why bother casting Jennifer Jason Leigh in the dullest of dull roles when it could have been anyone for all it mattered? The pacing was off with scenes that should have cut to make the drama tighter. Did either father or son really care about the death of mother and other son? I don’t remember any sign that they did but I do know that Michael’s favourite subject at school was biblical history. As for the massacre in the pouring rain in total silence and slow motion, give me strength! - two clichés for the price of one (which is another, I know). The Grant Wood farmers were excruciating plot devices – I don’t need to be told that they are wonderful, trusting, simple folk but a close up at any time of the husband might have been helpful for us to care about them.

Still, on the positive side, Lake Michigan looks nice.