Road to Perdition script

Hi, everyone. As part of my new rewards system, scripts are now released shortly after the video. Here is the script to the "Catholicism & Heaven - Road to Perdition" episode I released over the weekend. 

 AUDIO 1 

 Road to Perdition is among the most Catholic Hollywood films of the 21st century, the same century that has included wide releases like Doubt and Silence. These films are more overt in their Catholicism, they are dressed in the garments of the faith. Doubt takes place in a Catholic school and features the tale of a conflict between a nun and a Catholic priest. Silence is the story of two Jesuits, members of a religious congregation of the Catholic Church, serving as missionaries in Japan. Catholicism is the text of the film, the surface-level setting and cast of characters. Road to Perdition uses Catholicism as an undercurrent, an invisible hand that touches everything in the film but could easily be missed by an inattentive viewer struck by the incredible cinematography and period-specific devour. God is so ingrained in the lives of Americans that referencing the Almighty does not always conjure thoughts of religion, and the western canon has been so influenced by Christianity and more specifically the Roman Catholic Church that it pervades language while obfuscating the etymology of such phrases. The film begins with a wake, but this alone does not lead the audience down a path in which they assume is that of religion so much as it is a necessary gathering devoid of religiosity. 

 This pervasiveness of Catholicism as merely part of the mundane takes a right turn when mob boss John Rooney tells Michael Sullivan that the criminal life is what they chose, and in doing so, they may never see Heaven. And then everything that came before comes into sharper focus. [black] So, let's back up. Michael Sullivan works for John Rooney, an Irish mob boss and surrogate father. Michael's son, Michael Jr., hides in the car during a meeting with another mobster. It turns fatal when John's actual son, Connor, turns his gun on someone he was not meant to kill. Michael Jr. witnesses this. Connor murders Michael's wife and his other son Peter, mistakenly believing he is Michael Jr. This leads to a road trip in which both Michaels plot to both escape from Connor and also kill him. None of this description sounds particularly Catholic until one looks at the imagery and references, all of which appear to show a conflict between a desire for grace and the reality of a harsh existence replete with terrible sins. When we first see Michael Sr, he removes what appears to be a Rosary from his pocket and then a gun immediately thereafter. Michael Jr. witnesses this. 

 AUDIO 2
 The aforementioned Irish-Catholic wake is hosted by John Rooney, but the wake is only necessary because John himself ordered the murder of the man who everyone is mourning. The murderer is hosting the wake of his victim. During the wake, the brother of the victim tells John that he rules the town much like God, giving and taking away. John is seen praying in church in spite of the fact that he admits he will not see Heaven, a surface-level lip-service either to God or to give others the appearance of his righteousness. These Catholic allusions ironically emphasize the great distance between the characters' alleged religious devotion and their agendas. This veneer of faith presents the hypocrisy of these presumably devout Catholics. When Michael confronts John, he does so in a church. John suggests they talk in the basement. It is full of garbage and icons not presently in use by the church above them. They are having their discussion about not seeing heaven in a room for discarded objects of faith, themselves men who have abandoned the path of Christ like so much trash in the bin.  

 
 Michael and his son are on the road to a town called Perdition, perhaps the most clear reference to Catholicism in the film. “Perdition” means “damnation” – a state of being outside of the love of God or in Hell itself. The director of the film has said of this "I think the Catholicism in the film is crucial because it gives these people a structure that tells them it's still possible to be saved." Catholicism, perhaps, prevents Michael Sullivan and John Rooney to transform into Macguire, hitman with a more monstrous fascination with death. A devil. When Michael manages to kill Connor and escape from the Irish mob, he and his son arrive in their home. Not Hell but a representation of Heaven, the place where Rooney told his surrogate son he would never see. The white light and calming waves give us this overall impression. The older Michael's mission to save his son both in terms of his life and in terms of his soul is also a mission to save himself. To atone in some way for who he has become. Michael Sr. having the same name as his son reflects this, as does a conversation between them in which the father tells the son he is concerned he may follow in his footsteps.   

 AUDIO 3 

 Michael Jr., as his father predicted, could see Heaven. Michael Sr., however, is murdered by Macguire. In this film, Macguire is the devil. Early on at the wake, John gives a classic Irish toast. “May we be in Heaven before the Devil knows we're dead.” If Michael's journey to the home by the water, a representation of Heaven, is being hindered by Macguire, then Macguire is the manifestation of the Devil in the film. A metaphor for the worst of us. Of sin, of evil. The Devil catches up to Michael in the end. The father saves his son by killing Macguire so that the young boy would not have to. His soul can be saved. The relationship between fathers and sons is mirrored in the relationship between God and His children. John is mockingly called God during the wake because he gives and takes away. From the perspective of humanity, God is either a benevolent figure who gave us life or a capricious monster who plays with his toys. For this man, God is both, and this incongruity is too much of him to bear, much as the incongruity between superficial devotion and actual villainy is too much for the other characters.   

 John, who has a contentious relationship with his son Conner, says that sons are put on this Earth to trouble their fathers. When Conner kills Michael's family, John curses the day his son was born. Catholics are so worried about pleasing God that they may not concern themselves with the notion that maybe God regrets His creation. Have we disappointed him, in the same way that Conner have disappointed his father? Have we trespassed too far? And if so, can we be forgiven? These are questions put forth in the film. The Catholic Church has a complicated history with sin and reconciliation. Catechism, a summary of principles by the Catholic Church, says that we must know Christ as the source of grace in order to know Adam as the source of sin. All men are implicated in Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden, as St. Paul and the Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms. The doctrine of original sin due to the actions of Adam is the reverse side of Jesus Christ being the savior because all need salvation and that salvation is offered to all through Christ. In simpler terms, we can't tamper with the idea that we're all sinners without undermining Jesus' purpose on Earth: saving us.    

  AUDIO 4  

  Conclusion: We're all sinners who need to be saved. Forgiveness in Catholicism is not a panacea, though. One must also be genuine in regret, contrition and reconciliation. Forgiveness is a key concept in the religion, but it's not a "loophole" to allow for any act. Committing sins on Monday with the master plan to make a priest forgive the sinner on Tuesday is acting in bad faith, and Catholics say that God would recognize this as false. One cannot fool someone who knows everything. Membership in Catholicism or any Christian denomination for that matter does not save oneself alone. Even John, a church-going Catholic, is aware of this. His baptism and attendance at Sunday mass will not be enough for him to see Heaven. It is the central concept of the film – that deeds matter, creed does not. So, can Michael Sr. be forgiven? Does he do enough to make things right with the Lord? His violence in the last few days of his life was for the protection of his son, but it seemed like he was at least as concerned with revenge as he was the guardianship of what was left of his family. He could have traveled across to the other coast.    

  Who could find him? He could have turned state's witness. There were options. He chose murder as his option. Even if he had not, his regrets and attempts at reconciliation may not have been enough to appease God. Catholic beliefs regarding the forgiveness of sins are contentious. There is a difference between venial sins, meaning minor infractions, and mortal sins, such as murder. Michael had committed many mortal sins. Michael becomes a sacrifice. He sacrifices his ticket to Heaven and even his life so that his son may see Heaven and so that his son may live. In this, he both takes on a characteristic of Christ AND defies him by committing sins so that his son does not have to do the same. In the end, Michael Jr. has been saved in both senses of that word. He never picked up a gun again, and he was raised on a farm by a kindly, childless couple who took him in after his father's death. As for where his father ended up after death...God only knows.