When two misfits, Burt and Verona (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph), learn they are about to become parents, they set off on a cross-country trip to help them decide where they should settle down. But things don't go as they hope: Burt's mother (Catherine O'Hara) casually tells them she and his father are moving to Europe and won't see much of their baby. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Allison Janney play friends of Verona's who have very different parenting styles. Burt and Verona can't quite figure out how they'll make it work, but vow to keep trying. Directed by Sam Mendes. With Josh Hamilton and Jeff Daniels. Categories: Comedy. Year: 2009.
Sam Mendes in Away We Go
Settling in a quaint Connecticut suburb, Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April Wheeler (Kate Winslet), a young, self-assured married couple, struggle to keep their dreams alive and create a distinction between themselves and their ordinary neighbors. While April raises their children, all the while maintaining aspirations of becoming an actress and moving to Paris, Frank is forced to work a corporate job in New York City that he hates. As Frank turns to alcohol to distract himself from the tedium, the couple's marriage begins to dissolve into a cycle of bitter, jealous arguments. Directed by Sam Mendes. With Kathy Bates, Kathryn Hahn, Michael Shannon and David Harbour. Categories: Drama, Romance, Based on a Novel. Year: 2008.
Sam Mendes in Revolutionary Road
During the Depression, Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) works as a hitman for John Rooney (Paul Newman), an Irish mob boss who raised the orphaned Sullivan like a son. When a meeting turns into a gunfight, Rooney blames and humiliates his psychopathic son Connor (Daniel Craig) for the bloodshed, setting him off on a violent rampage that leaves Sullivan's wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and youngest son (Liam Aiken) dead. Intent on revenge, Sullivan sets out on the run with his eldest son (Tyler Hoechlin), who finally learns his father's true occupation. Directed by Sam Mendes. With Stanley Tucci, Ciarán Hinds and Jude Law. Categories: Crime, Drama. Year: 2002.
Sam Mendes in Road to Perdition
Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) has a perfect wife (Annette Bening) and a perfect house in the perfect neighborhood. Lester, however, is miserable. In the throws of a midlife crisis, Lester watches his marriage dissolve and his own interest grow in one of his daughter's high school friends (Mena Suvari). As his daughter (Thora Birch) develops a friendship with the boy (Wes Bentley) next door and his wife begins an affair, Lester looks deeper inside himself for a cure to his unhappiness. Directed by Sam Mendes. Categories: Drama. Year: 1999.
Sam Mendes in American Beauty