Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes brought his latest creation home last night as his second Hollywood movie premiered in Britain amid high expectations.

The phenomenal success of American Beauty, which won five Oscars, including best picture, has led to speculation as to whether Mendes could produce a credible follow-up.

But despite such pressure, the director appeared relaxed as he arrived in London's Leicester Square for the screening of The Road to Perdition with his partner, Kate Winslet.

She was more nervous about his big night than he was, he said: "I said 'What are you worrying about, it's not your film'. I think when it is her own film she feels more in control."

The Chicago gangster movie, featuring a mix of family relationships and mafia violence, has already been tipped for Oscar success and boasts a heavyweight cast including Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Jude Law.

Portraying a bad guy for the first time, Hanks plays depression era hitman, Michael Sullivan, who goes on the run with his son after his wife and his eldest son are murdered. Newman stars as his avuncular gang boss, and Law plays the hired killer chasing him across the Mid West.