Revolutionary Road: Review By unity768

In recent years, struggling marriages has transformed into a plot device that grandly entertains the masses. John Curran's We Don't Live Here Anymore and David Gordon Green's Snow Angels heavily focus on relationships and the adversity that comes with it. AMC's award winning series Mad Men probably has the most in common with Revolutionary Road than any of the other films I mentioned or will mention later on. Mendes saw a great opportunity to adapt a classic literature piece, tackle an issue that won him the Oscar in the form of American Beauty, and provide a setting in which critics and fans have already come accustomed to. It's also hard to ignore the on screen couple in Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet, the first time they've been on screen since the blockbuster drama Titanic, in which have the ladies hooked on the idea of a sweet romantic tale between one of Hollywood's most popular on-screen couples. If women, or anyone for that matter thinks this is a sweet tale then go home because Mendes has crafted a Shakespearean tragedy laced in 1950's suburbia America.

The Wheeler's seem to be like any other couple living in a Connecticut suburb. They have two kids, with Frank Wheeler (DiCaprio) working in a cubicle while April Wheeler (Winslet) stays home and sits the children. What separates the often doomed couple is their awareness of it all. April starts to reminisce about the beginning years of their marriage, and how Frank claimed how Paris was the only place where people really felt "alive." With Frank's savings and April's opportunity to work for big wages in Europe doing secretary work, the Wheeler's find themselves packing up and planning a family move to Paris. This would allow Frank to find himself and what occupation he really wants to pursue, without the pressure of significantly providing for a family. While the couple seems extremely pleased with the idea, both Frank and April hold secrets from each other that can prevent them from moving, ultimately casting a grim shadow over the entire production and the deliberately paced story.

At the core of the matter, Revolutionary Road can be seen as a showcase vehicle for the powerhouse performances from DiCaprio and Winslet. We have seen the plot a number of times, with Matthew Weiner's Mad Men being the most recent example. This doesn't necessarily mean the film was boring, because it infinitely entertained me for the near two hour time run. The interactions and exchanges between DiCaprio and Winslet keep things interesting and thought provoking, while simultaneously providing solid supporting characters. Kathy Bates, reuniting with her Titanic teammates turns in a good performance as Helen Givings, the community gossip queen while Kathryn Hahn turns in a terrific portrayal as Milly, the friendly neighbor living beside the Wheeler's. Both characters bought into the lifestyle the Wheeler's are trying to stray away from, in which marks the grand performance by Michael Shannon, the Givings' son whose been labeled mentally ill by his parents for exposing the boring and hopefulness lifestyle of the "American Dream." Mendes makes good use of irony throughout Revolutionary Road, with Shannon being labeled as mentally ill but the only person in the community with his head on his shoulders. The only person that really recognizes his potential is our haunted April.

Irony is superbly applied to the downward spiral of Frank. DiCaprio really nails this performance and probably gives his most powerful acting piece here. The guilt, anger, loneliness, and doubt of Frank is masterfully embedded in the performance, with every facial expression providing a different layer to the character. He's the one who crafted Paris as a utopia, but distances himself away from the idea of moving there with the pressure of filling his father shoes in the workplace, taking care of a family, and endlessly executing an emotionless affair with a new secretary at work. Winslet is equally impressive as April, showing the world why she's undoubtedly one of the best actresses in the business today. She switches from angry to happy to frustrated to guilty all with a flick of a switch. Much like her better half, April is troubled by a rather routine secret, a failed acting career, and the path Frank seems to be heading towards. It's tough to establish who the hero or the villain is in this tale. Their are multiple assumptions, in which can entail; Frank as the villain, with April the victim, the suburbia lifestyle as the villain while the Wheeler's the victim, or just plainly there are no villains or heroes but just a simple drop-in on a marriage powered by arguments, adversity, and goals labeled too unrealistic to be pursued.

Oddly enough, the Wheelers are often admired by the entire community, another example of irony being excercised by Mendes. Theirs a scene in which shows Milly's husband (David Harbour) giving a prolonged, gaze look at the Wheeler's house next door. Such a simple scene speaks great volumes about how couples, undeniably stretching to today seem to act completely different around other people. Fake marital success and love relations are explored in Revolutionary Road, lacing the element of irony with every powerful scene throughout the concoction. The reactions by the supporting characters, with the exception of the Givings' so called ill son are all negative. Their expressions say, "Wait, you can't leave, your our friends, you can't leave us alone here in this miserable place!" All of these characters have been swallowed by this lifestyle, with the Wheeler's trying to endlessly run from this boring, dreadful, but ironically labeled the "American Dream" way of living.

Revolutionary Road is a near masterpiece, an autopsy on a doomed marriage from beginning to end. The film's conclusion, which seems to be the main point of negative reviews by various critics, is really the only quibble keeping Mende's fourth film from becoming a true American masterpiece. Perhaps if he decided to shave the last ten minutes or so off from the production this would've been my absolute favorite film of the year. It dives into territory that seems to be unnecessary and a tad forced. With that being said, Rev Road is still one of the best films of the year, in which should see a collection of Oscar nominations for Justin Haythe's screenplay, and the two transcendent performances from DiCaprio and Winslet.