

However, he does grow up to become a priest to atone for his sins. has no qualms about going on a killing spree along with his father. But according to Collins’ book, Sullivan Jr. fails to pull the trigger on the man who kills his father. In the film, Maguire shoots Sullivan, yet Sullivan Jr.

You would also be surprised to know that the violence in the movie is quite toned down as compared to the graphic novel. Moreover, Harlen Maguire pursues Sullivan and Sullivan Jr., making the plot all the more engaging. For one, the father-son element in the narrative has been amped up in the screen adaptation, especially since Rooney being a father figure to Sullivan is quite pronounced. There are several differences between the movie and Collins’ graphic novel. As for the characters Michael Sullivan and Michael Sullivan Jr., Collins apparently drew inspiration from the manga ‘Lone Wolf and Cub.’ For example, Frank Nitti, Al Capone, and Eliot Ness were all actual people, and the author blended several true incidents into the graphic novel’s fictional plot. In an interview in June 2002, Collins revealed that he played around with the time frame to add several historical touches to the storyline. While the latter died in the attack, Looney escaped and died of tuberculosis many years later. But in reality, a number of people attacked Looney and his son Connor Looney in their car. In the film, Michael Sullivan shoots Rooney point-blank before killing his son Connor in a bathtub. This bears some resemblance to the repercussions of Finn McGovern’s murder in the movie as it propels the narrative. He was convicted of William Gabel’s murder, which had triggered a gang war. Collins has not been shy about discussing the various influences that shaped his graphic novel.Īpparently, John Rooney’s character is inspired by John Patrick Looney, a mob boss in the early 1900s from Rock Island, Illinois.

Interestingly, the original source material borrows significantly from real life in terms of characters and plotlines. The movie is made from a screenplay by David Self, which in turn is adapted from the eponymous graphic novel by writer Max Allan Collins and illustrator Richard Piers Rayner. ‘Road to Perdition’ is partially based on a true story. Is Road to Perdition Based on a True Story? So, could that mean the film is based on actual events? We were eager to find out, so here is what we have learned! Some of you may feel that parts of the 2002 gangster movie’s storyline have been ripped from the news headlines as it includes some well-known figures from history.
