By Ian Youngs BBC News Online entertainment staff

It is a well-known fact that everything was brown in the United States during the Great Depression.

The dirt of the country tracks, the walls of the small-town banks waiting to be robbed, the deep water you would find yourself in if you crossed the gangland godfathers.

And what was not brown was grey - the sky as yet another storm broke, the suits worn by stern but honourable men, your prospects if you tried to go on the run.

Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Tom Hanks' loyal wife

I have no idea if that is what it was really like in 1931 - but Hollywood has decided that that is how it will forever be portrayed.

Sam Mendes, the golden boy UK director and Kate Winslet's love, has used this template for his latest (second) film, Road to Perdition.

His first movie, American Beauty, exceeded all expectations and scooped five Oscars - so there is high anticipation for the follow-up.

Stylish

Starring Tom Hanks as a father and gangster who inhabits the grey area between good and evil, Road to Perdition is clever, challenging and visually striking - even if there are a few corny Hollywood moments.

With enough twists and turns to compile an A to Z, it is more compelling than the average depressing depression-era drama.

Jude Law is a surprising choice as hitman Harlen

The stylish cinematography adds to its impact, with some shots made to look like moving Lowry paintings.

The story begins with an average young family - a serious father, Michael Sullivan (Hanks), his compliant wife, Annie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and their two sons, all trying to scrape by.

They do not seem different from any other hard-up, plain family that we might be asked to sympathise with - but first impressions can often be wrong, as the film shows.

It is slowly and shrewdly revealed that Hanks is not just your average pen-pushing pop, and his friend, father-figure John Rooney (Paul Newman), is more sinister than the public official or businessman we initially took him to be.

Shock

These revelations all come through the eyes of the young Michael Sullivan Jr (the cherubic Tyler Hoechlin), who always assumed that his father was a fine, law-abiding man - and who discovers the full horrors of his father's "job" by accident.

Stanley Tucci plays Chicago gang boss Frank Nitti

The clever casting of Hanks means Michael Jr's shock is felt by the audience too. We have got so used to Hanks being Mr Nice Guy that it comes as a surprise when he shoots a room full of people in cold blood.

But he again proves that he can turn his hand to almost any role and remains Hollywood's colossal everyman.

Another interesting piece of casting sees Jude Law pop up as a freakish hitman who chases father and son across the country.

As well as playing with our assumptions of what is right and wrong, this film is a strong story of how one man is forced to go on a journey with his son in more ways than one.

As in life, nothing is ever black and white - more brown and grey.