In Theaters Review: Revolutionary Road

Revolutionary Road (2008)

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Synopsis(Rotten Tomatoes): Those who were waiting for the romantic reunion of TITANIC's Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet may be surprised by what they find in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD. The movie begins with a sweet scene where Frank (DiCaprio) and April (Winslet) meet at a party, but the rest of this drama based on Richard Yates's novel is devoted to watching the destruction of their marriage and their selves in 1950s suburbia. Frank works at a job he hates in New York City, then commutes home to two children and a wife who feels none of them belong in their cookie-cutter town. Their realtor (a fine Kathy Bates) recognizes their specialness and introduces them to her mentally unstable son (BUG's Michael Shannon, in another good, unhinged performance) in an effort to establish some normalcy for the man. However, Frank and April's marriage is not as perfect as it seems to the outside world, and the audience gets to witness their downfall. With its commentary on conformity and finding identity, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD bears more than a passing resemblance in both theme and tone to the TV series MAD MEN and director Sam Mendes's previous film AMERICAN BEAUTY. The characters here may live in a polite age where men wear ties and hats and women clean the house in skirts and heels, but the dialogue often enters brutal territory. Less capable actors wouldn't have been able to capture the volatile chemistry between Frank and April, but DiCaprio and Winslet are as wonderful at uttering sweet nothings as they are at tearing each other apart with verbal barbs. Mendes, directing his wife, Winslet, for the first time, is a perfect match for the source novel's lack of sentimentality and its wry commentary on life in the 1950s that still resonates half a century later

Impressions that I get: The suburbs + 1950's + outer comformity vs. inner longings + a legally insane man seeming sane + first rate acting. Revolutionary Road and Sam Mendes. This movie really cut to the core on a lot of issues and left a lifelong suburbanite like me asking some questions. What desires of mine are being squashed by the "rules of society"? Is it possible to escape what is expected or is freewill just a word? It's tough and exceedingly dystopian at times, sometimes to the point where it all just seems too contrived. However, the story is lifted up by the remarkable and passionate acting of almost everyone in the cast (especially Leo, Kate, and Michael Shannon). The dialouge seems so real and each character complex becuase they never have the answers to explain their firey actions. Mendes could easily pile on some high-brow monolouges to try to explain the philosophies of the characters, but he understands that these people were not like that. They were scared, they make myriad condradictions, they yell and scream and can't figure out why afterwards. One of my favorite exchanges is between Michael Shannon and Leonardo Dicaprio, when Leo refers to the suburbs as the "hopeless emptiness" and Shannon, a legally insane man, replies, "Ah, yes. Most people can see the hopelessness, but never the emptiness." Yet, on the surface, all of these people are so damned nice to each other (with the exception of Michael Shannon, who seems deranged simply becuase he speaks his mind without considerations for social rules). This is the highlight of Revolutionary Road, the gut-wrenching humanity of each person that is hidden underneath a fine layer of bullshit. Everytime I walk past someone on the street who is wearing a suit and has a lovely lady next to them, I could assume they are content with life, however, it could be people just like Frank and April. You see these people everywhere. At dinner parties. Downtown in the office. At the meet-your-teacher day. Maybe they once had, or still have, desires to go to Paris and start life anew. Maybe they still don't know what they love in life. Maybe, that couple over there, is sick and tired of each other, but still hold hands in public becuase the worth of their public image stands above their own melting self image. Or maybe those people are happy and are fullfilling their life desires. Who knows? Either way, Revolutionary Road is a film that examines life in the supposed perfection of the suburbs and leaves you wondering, have I ever seen a "real" soul in my life? Or are they just hidden, like Frank and April, beneath the wedding cake layers of wealth and marriage?

-AT

Acting (9.5/10) Just outstanding, an underappreciated part is Michael Shannon who plays the deranged son of the neighbors, yet is the one man who can see the disturbing truth behind the marital image of Kate and Leo.

Plot (8/10) The plot seems to be the unraveling of love between Frank and April, which is interesting, but the film does lean a little toward the long side.

Cinematography (9/10) Very well done, as always by Sam Mendes. Great shots of portarying comformity without having to say it.

Originality (7.5/10) Does have some strong parrallels to earlier Mendes movies (American Beauty and Road to Perdition), and is an adapted novel from Richard Yates. Still, nobody does it quite like Mendes.

Grade: B++