MovieChat Forums > Road to Perdition (2002) Discussion > Ending in the Novel

Ending in the Novel

posted 14 years ago by mjd13076
7 replies | jump to latest

Supposedly, in the graphic novel, there's a different ending. Anyone have any knowledge of it?

Hi, how ya doin'?

[–] mario_023 14 years ago

Sucks I can't remember cause it's been so long. I do remember that the novel is WAY more action packed though

"The saddest thing in life is wasted talent." ~ A Bronx Tale (1993)

[–] reeldramaqueen 13 years ago

In the graphic novel, if I remember correctly, at the end Michael Sullivan Jr. does in fact pull the trigger and kill Maguire (?)/McGee, whatever his name is. And at the very end it is revealed that Sullivan Jr. has become a priest.

I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.

[–] nirvana_kedi 13 years ago

Then the end of movie is better than the graphic novel's end.

[–] reeldramaqueen 13 years ago

Even though I like that Michael became a priest, I agree. The film's ending is better. The score is absolutely beautiful, and the recycled visual from the beginning where Michael Jr. is standing in front of the ocean is so fitting and breathtaking. Plus, I always choke up at the line, "I give them the same answer every time. He was my father."

I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.

[–] Little_Korean 13 years ago

No Maguire in the comic book, just a random hitman. And the film's ending was better. Heck, the film in general was better.

When darkness overcomes the heart, Lil' Slugger appears...

[–] slimer63 11 years ago

Though i overall enjoyed the movie, the ending in the book was COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AND TOTALLY CHANGES THE ENTIRE THEME OF THE STORY!!

-A theme that keeps popping up is if Sullivan is a "Good Man." We know he is a feared and violent hit-man working for gangsters, but also a protective father who did not want his son exposed to the same life he led. So there is explicit struggle in what determines if Sullivan is Good, and what actions can redeem other actions.

-In the book, young Michael kills his father's murderer, then it is revealed he is re-telling this story as an adult and that he has become a priest. In other words, the son's entire life has been a continuation of the theme of whether redemption is possible, whether atonement for violence can be achieved, and whether a person can become/be Good even with violent background. Was Sullivan "Good?" Is Michael now "Good?"

-In the movie, they have Michael Junior struggle with his impulse toward vengeance/violence, then they have Sullivan shoot the murderer, thus keeping Junior "clean" and completely undermining and erasing the redemptive/morally ambiguous theme represented by young Michael in the book. It's totally different! Major deviation from a central theme of the book!

The movie ending of Road to Perdition, as compared to the book, would be almost like if the movie version of Watchmen had had a real alien attack that Ozymandias defeats rather than the complex false attack staged to bring humanity together at the cost of millions of innocents. It would be a totally different meaning, and utter undermining of the central moral theme of the story.

[–] seentheah-87912 7 years ago

The novel's ending helps answer my question how this boy managed not he involved in WWII since he'd be of age to be enlisted/drafted into the US military. Knowing now that the surviving son would become a priest explains why he would not use a gun again.