Rhapsodies

Last week was the Emerald City Comic Con. So in its honor, I thought I’d do something comic related. However since I’ve seen all but the absolute worst of most of the genre, I went for some adaptations of some of the lesser known graphic novels. By sheer coincidence, this weekend was St. Patrick’s Day and both of these were graphic novels featuring the Irish Mob.

The first film I watched, David Cronenberg’s History of Violence, based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, tells the story of Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) a well-liked member of the community in a small town in Indiana, where he owns a popular diner. One day the the diner is robbed us by two extremely brutal criminals. In self-defense Stall kills them with relative ease. This turns him into a reluctant hero of the community and puts him on the national news. Regrettably, the coverage is watched by members of the Irish Mob who recognize him as a gangster named Joey Cusack and come to investigate. 

Being a fan of both Mortensen and Cronenberg I was relatively disappointed by this film. I was expecting something a bit more cerebral study of redemption but instead they went all Rambo at the end. 

In the end what makes this film interesting is the effect of the revelation on Tom’s past on his family. For the most part Cronenberg fumbles. Though the final scene of the film nearly saves it.

The next film I on my list, Sam Mendes’s Road to Perdition, based on the graphic novel by Max Allan Collins. Tells the story of Michael SullivanJr. (Tyler Hoechlin) a young boy growing up in relatively idealistic life for a lower-class Irish family in the Depression. One day he sneaks into his fathers car and discovers what his father does for a living. Micheal Sr (  Tom Hanks). turns out to be the enforcer for the mob and Micheal Jr. Ends up witnessing a “conversation” that goes very wrong. The snowballs with his father’s employers trying to kill the to silence them but ends up killing Michael Jr. ’s mother and brother instead. 

Now his father and he are on the run, with his father gunning (literally) for revenge. 

This film lived up to its reputation it was very well done. The original graphic novel was intended to be a prohibition era version of the manga, Lone Wolf and Cub and for everyone familiar with Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima’s classic this is very apparent, (though Micheal Jr. Is far too old to be the prop the character he’s based on is.)

For the most part, this was a wonderfully intense and unsentimental adaptation of the source material with fantastic performances from Hanks as well as supporting cast that includes Paul Newman, Jude Law, and Daniel Craig. In fact, the only sticking point as an adaption is the relatively happier ending.