As the months go by, Ruth keeps seeing Richard around town and as her anger grows her grief snowballs. The thought of him serving only five or ten years becomes unbearable for her and Matt. Ever the devoted husband and father, Matt takes matters into his own hands. Mendes portrays Ruth as a doting but critical mother, very much concerned with her own world, He sums her up in one sentence at the end of the movie when Matt returns home, she simply says, "Did you do it" and then goes cheerfully into the kitchen to make coffee without a thought to what her husband was experiencing (Mendes 2001). Mendes shows the circumstances that can lead one to take the law into their own hands as well as the doubt that follows such an act.

Robert Benton began his film career in the 1970's and as Christian Keathly writes, "His films bear a style that is an American version of what Godard identified as his own desired balance of 'method and sentiment'" (Keathly 1995). Geoff Gilmore, codirector of the Sundance Film Festival, said of Robert Redford, "If you look at what he's done as a director, it's an extremely impressive body of work, not only in terms of him as a storyteller, but as an artist. He has an impressive understanding of character and psychology...he displays a very eclectic and broad-ranging vision" (Chagollan 2002). Joshua Rich writes that in "Road to Perdition," "Mendes has matured enough to...

David Ansen writes, "In his powerful first feature, actor turned director Todd Field exhibits a mastery of his craft many filmmakers never acquire in a lifetime. He's deeply attuned to his material, and he takes us with him" (Ansen 2001).
All four directors left their mark on the perspective decades by exploring issues and subjects that had remained hidden, but were nonetheless part of the fabric of American life.

Works Cited

Benton, Robert. "Kramer vs. Kramer." RCA/Columbia Pictures. 1979.

Redford, Robert. "Ordinary People." Paramount Pictures. 1980.

Mendes, Sam. "American Beauty." DreamWorks SKG. 1999.

Field, Todd. "In the Bedroom." Good Machine;Greene Street Films, Inc.;

Standard Film Company, Inc. 2001.

Keathly, Christian. "Robert Benton." Film Comment; 1/1/1995.

Chagollan, Steve. "Academy embraces the Sundance kid: honorary Oscar:

Robert Redford." Variety; 3/4/2002.

Rich, Joshua. "The Mob Rules: Tom Hanks hits the highway to hell in the fiery

Road to Perdition." Entertainment Weekly; 2/28/2003.

Ansen, David. "Their House Torn Asunder: Novice director Todd Field's disturbing domestic gem." Newsweek; 12/3/2001.