Having been a 50s housewife with children at home and a husband who wanted to be anywhere but there, this movie was familiar territory. How many of us in those years simply packed our dreams away for the immediate necessity of putting food on the table and paying the mortgage? Di Caprio is outstanding, as is Winslet, she having to deal with an American accent along with the tearing emotions. I didn't see that anyone picked up on the final scene, of Kathy Bates and her husband, but to me that was the whole moral of the story - here is where you will end up if you give in to what you know is not right for you. Overall, though, well done - except women in the 50s did NOT wear hats to work!!
576 Reviews
The American dream is actually a nightmare.
Matt_Layden2 May 2010
A young couple living in 1950's suburbia think they are different from all the other families living the American Dream. Although, they soon find out that not every dream comes true and they fall exactly into the situations they didn't want to be in. Their marriage is falling apart, they have trouble raising their children and they want out of this lifestyle.
Sam Mendes is a filmmaker who knows exactly what he wants, which is why he would want to work on this film. Revolutionary Road is probably his least interesting film, story wise. After-all, it's just about two people who try to cope with their lives. There is no motivational plot to it, but the thing about this film is that it doesn't need one. We are getting a glimpse into the lives of two people who had big dreams and realized that they had to sacrifice them in order to live their lives. It's sad, but it also rings true.
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, as the married couple who constantly fight. Everyone called this film the "What If Jack and Rose Ended Up Together" movie. Yet it is so much more than that. They give powerful performances, which unfortunately were overlooked during the Oscar season. Another Titanic star, Kathy Bates, gives her support to the couple as the real estate agent who thinks the world of them. She has a son, who is mentally unstable and asks to bring him over for dinner one night. Michael Shannon plays the son and he steals both scenes he is in. For a guy who is deemed insane, he is the only one who speaks the truth.
I watched this flick because so many people told me how depressing it was. While it was depressing I didn't find it to be that bad. The most depressing aspect of the film is how relatable it is to real life. This story happens everywhere and that is the sad part.
The cinematography is great, the 1950's feel was spot on and really gave the film more of a cinematic sense of wonder to it. Roger Deakins seems to know exactly what is needed for every film he takes on. The look and feel of the film here is so simple, yet so beautiful at the same time.
Finally, I can see why people may not like this film. It's definitely an acquired taste. I was not in love with it by any means and for those involved it's not their best work. Instead it's a film to enjoy once. I wouldn't bother watching it again because the pace is long and I feel that I won't be as engaged a second time.
On a final note, why do guys from the 1950's only last about 15 seconds?
Sam Mendes is a filmmaker who knows exactly what he wants, which is why he would want to work on this film. Revolutionary Road is probably his least interesting film, story wise. After-all, it's just about two people who try to cope with their lives. There is no motivational plot to it, but the thing about this film is that it doesn't need one. We are getting a glimpse into the lives of two people who had big dreams and realized that they had to sacrifice them in order to live their lives. It's sad, but it also rings true.
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, as the married couple who constantly fight. Everyone called this film the "What If Jack and Rose Ended Up Together" movie. Yet it is so much more than that. They give powerful performances, which unfortunately were overlooked during the Oscar season. Another Titanic star, Kathy Bates, gives her support to the couple as the real estate agent who thinks the world of them. She has a son, who is mentally unstable and asks to bring him over for dinner one night. Michael Shannon plays the son and he steals both scenes he is in. For a guy who is deemed insane, he is the only one who speaks the truth.
I watched this flick because so many people told me how depressing it was. While it was depressing I didn't find it to be that bad. The most depressing aspect of the film is how relatable it is to real life. This story happens everywhere and that is the sad part.
The cinematography is great, the 1950's feel was spot on and really gave the film more of a cinematic sense of wonder to it. Roger Deakins seems to know exactly what is needed for every film he takes on. The look and feel of the film here is so simple, yet so beautiful at the same time.
Finally, I can see why people may not like this film. It's definitely an acquired taste. I was not in love with it by any means and for those involved it's not their best work. Instead it's a film to enjoy once. I wouldn't bother watching it again because the pace is long and I feel that I won't be as engaged a second time.
On a final note, why do guys from the 1950's only last about 15 seconds?
Truth is usually in singular - Lies always come in plural.
natasha-bishop16 December 2008
I saw an advance screening of Revolutionary Road in Beverly Hills, CA this evening (December 14th). A Q&A session followed the screening with Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, Michael Shannon, Kathryn Hahn, and screenwriter Justin Haythe. Photos from the Q&A are attached to this report.
Revolutionary Road is a story that you won't be able to shake easily. The film will stick in your head and leave you to contemplate what has just happened on the screen before you. Richard Yates gives us the story of Frank and April Wheeler, the seemingly perfect suburbia couple. We soon find out their marriage is teetering on the edge of a collapse as they are overwhelmed by the fact that they have each made the wrong choices in their lives.
Once again Kate Winselt and Leonardo DiCaprio come together with great chemistry, pulling the best out of each other. This is a heavy film with emotionally complex characters, I'm not sure I could think of any two actors that could pull off the roles of Frank and April Wheeler like Leonardo and Kate did.
"Truth is usually in singular - Lies always come in plural." I'm not sure who said that, but it is a notion that sums up this film.
Michael Shannon shinned in his role as the clinically insane son of Kathy Bates character; John Givings. Bates and Shannon both deliver humorous scenes to this heavy storyline, although there are times when you see the sadness and desperation in their characters as well. Michael Shannon's character, John Givings, is the truth in this film. Although clinically insane, he can see through everyone's lies and does the unthinkable; he forces everyone face their own truth.
I guarantee you will not be singing "My Heart Will Go On" after seeing this film. But you won't be disappointed with this little film gem.
Revolutionary Road is a story that you won't be able to shake easily. The film will stick in your head and leave you to contemplate what has just happened on the screen before you. Richard Yates gives us the story of Frank and April Wheeler, the seemingly perfect suburbia couple. We soon find out their marriage is teetering on the edge of a collapse as they are overwhelmed by the fact that they have each made the wrong choices in their lives.
Once again Kate Winselt and Leonardo DiCaprio come together with great chemistry, pulling the best out of each other. This is a heavy film with emotionally complex characters, I'm not sure I could think of any two actors that could pull off the roles of Frank and April Wheeler like Leonardo and Kate did.
"Truth is usually in singular - Lies always come in plural." I'm not sure who said that, but it is a notion that sums up this film.
Michael Shannon shinned in his role as the clinically insane son of Kathy Bates character; John Givings. Bates and Shannon both deliver humorous scenes to this heavy storyline, although there are times when you see the sadness and desperation in their characters as well. Michael Shannon's character, John Givings, is the truth in this film. Although clinically insane, he can see through everyone's lies and does the unthinkable; he forces everyone face their own truth.
I guarantee you will not be singing "My Heart Will Go On" after seeing this film. But you won't be disappointed with this little film gem.
The Road of Broken Dreams
Billy_Costigan24 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Revolutionary Road is a drama centered around an unhappy married couple living in the 1950's suburbs. They struggle dealing with their lives, how things have turned out, and what to do next. April (Kate Winslet) is a stay at home mother and wife, who seems to want more than that. She had dreams of becoming an actress but it never seemed to work out. She's angry, depressed and really cold at times. Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) works in the city, is unhappy with his job and bored with his life. He's just one of those guys that works because he has to. He needs to support his family, even if he hates doing it. Inner demons and problems of his own trouble him as he tries to live out his life. These character have problems and issues just like everyone else. Sometimes they may come off as selfish, cold, or confusing to us. Things haven't worked out, and they're upset. That's whats so interesting about this, you may have friends or neighbors in relationships like this, that would never think of. Everything seems great on the outside, but behind closed doors, it's a different story. We all have had things not go our way from time to time, but it's up to us to make the best from it and move on. April and Frank have a harder time with this. Fair, or not, they are unhappy. You may not necessarily relate to the characters yourself, but you can respect that their are people like this all the time, in everyday life still, that have problems they go through. They may not be as drastic as these problems, but everyone has something not right with them. There are many themes in this film, mainly being love, marriage, relationships, and life.
DiCaprio and Winslet give powerhouse performances. They really have a great chemistry together and seem to build off each other. Relationships are complicated and the highs and the lows are really shown extensively. All around great and believable performances with a small role by Michael Shannon, who shines as the crazy guy who tells it how it is. This is a film that will probably be best known for it's acting performances.
The film is directed by Sam Mendes, the director of American Beauty. The film, itself is visually and artistically amazing. The lighting, colors, sets, scenes, costumes, everything is extremely well done. It's beautiful. I loved the cinematography.
I can definitely can understand the hate, or dislike for this film. Due to it's depressing subject matter, it's not really a film you can sit down and just flat out enjoy or be entertained that much from. It's not a film for everyone. If you are just looking to be entertained and have a good time seeing a film, I don't think I would recommend this. It's shows the stark brutal reality of an unhappy suburban couple. If your looking for a film that more than that, one that is filled with terrific performances, great cinematography and direction, then you should check this out sometime. It's a really well made film all around, but be warned, it may be a hard one to enjoy.
DiCaprio and Winslet give powerhouse performances. They really have a great chemistry together and seem to build off each other. Relationships are complicated and the highs and the lows are really shown extensively. All around great and believable performances with a small role by Michael Shannon, who shines as the crazy guy who tells it how it is. This is a film that will probably be best known for it's acting performances.
The film is directed by Sam Mendes, the director of American Beauty. The film, itself is visually and artistically amazing. The lighting, colors, sets, scenes, costumes, everything is extremely well done. It's beautiful. I loved the cinematography.
I can definitely can understand the hate, or dislike for this film. Due to it's depressing subject matter, it's not really a film you can sit down and just flat out enjoy or be entertained that much from. It's not a film for everyone. If you are just looking to be entertained and have a good time seeing a film, I don't think I would recommend this. It's shows the stark brutal reality of an unhappy suburban couple. If your looking for a film that more than that, one that is filled with terrific performances, great cinematography and direction, then you should check this out sometime. It's a really well made film all around, but be warned, it may be a hard one to enjoy.
Strong performances let down by weak narrative spine
detectivedancing1 March 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Many people have said that Sam Mendes' latest forage into dark American suburbia in Revolutionary Road is how Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet's characters from Titanic would be like had they have married in that film and Jack Dawson not met his effusive watery grave.
The film explores, from the very start, a broken relationship between the two brought on by banal life on the quiet Connecticut Revolutionary Road and both of them leaving behind the idealistic dreams of youth with DiCaprio's Frank Wheeler in an uninspiring sales job and Winslet's April Wheeler locked into the position of a housewife, briefly flirting with the world of theatre.
It is perhaps fitting that the opening scenes, culminating in a blazing row on an interstate roadside between the two, come after April feels she has failed in an amateur theatrical production. The movie feels like it has been adapted from a stage play rather than Richard Yates' novel with bulleted delineated locations and intense dialogue.
But it is the smouldering argumentative scenes between the Wheeler's that perhaps lead to a lack of fulfilment from the movie. While the feel is very Ingmar Bergman-esquire with gloomy and dark emotions bubbling under the surface, the movie does not portray the wider framework of the marriage strongly enough to carry these off.
The focal point of the film comes when April seizes on a former conversation between the two when Frank describes Paris in passionate terms, discussing his presence there in the World War II. In an attempt to reignite their lives, April suggests they set about moving to the European city so Frank can discover his true calling in life.
This provides an interesting pathway and allows the story to grow through the reactions of Frank's colleagues, a couple they're friends with, their former estate agent (Kathy Bates in her element as an interfering matriarch) and the Wheeler's two children.
It may come as a surprise that I had not referred to the children previously, especially as they fuel the destruction in Frank and April's marriage with Frank questioning whether April actually loves her children at all. The children themselves barely feature, merely used as plot tools to bring the narrative forward. This would not be such a problem but without any form of internal narration from either of them the sense of the true relationship between April and her kids is unclear and makes this aspect feel isolated.
The cold hard realities of the failing marriage are spotted by the estate agent's son, a mentally unstable man temporarily allowed out of an asylum, a notable performance from Michael Shannon, who frankly and with spite notices the hypocrisies and deterioration within the Wheelers romance.
The film uses set-pieces and the supporting cast to attempt to heighten the magnitude of admittedly bravely performed sequences between DiCaprio and Winslet, eventually reaching an engaging, though predictable, climax. While the movie is certainly not revolutionary in terms of its portrayal of a declining marriage (the television series Mad Men set in a similar suburban setting does this with much more care and intricacy), it is a solid piece of work from Mendes but cannot approach his seminal American Beauty. However, one is left longing for a greater insight into why and how the relationship has reached this point to provide much needed groundwork to the frequent marital disputes.
The film explores, from the very start, a broken relationship between the two brought on by banal life on the quiet Connecticut Revolutionary Road and both of them leaving behind the idealistic dreams of youth with DiCaprio's Frank Wheeler in an uninspiring sales job and Winslet's April Wheeler locked into the position of a housewife, briefly flirting with the world of theatre.
It is perhaps fitting that the opening scenes, culminating in a blazing row on an interstate roadside between the two, come after April feels she has failed in an amateur theatrical production. The movie feels like it has been adapted from a stage play rather than Richard Yates' novel with bulleted delineated locations and intense dialogue.
But it is the smouldering argumentative scenes between the Wheeler's that perhaps lead to a lack of fulfilment from the movie. While the feel is very Ingmar Bergman-esquire with gloomy and dark emotions bubbling under the surface, the movie does not portray the wider framework of the marriage strongly enough to carry these off.
The focal point of the film comes when April seizes on a former conversation between the two when Frank describes Paris in passionate terms, discussing his presence there in the World War II. In an attempt to reignite their lives, April suggests they set about moving to the European city so Frank can discover his true calling in life.
This provides an interesting pathway and allows the story to grow through the reactions of Frank's colleagues, a couple they're friends with, their former estate agent (Kathy Bates in her element as an interfering matriarch) and the Wheeler's two children.
It may come as a surprise that I had not referred to the children previously, especially as they fuel the destruction in Frank and April's marriage with Frank questioning whether April actually loves her children at all. The children themselves barely feature, merely used as plot tools to bring the narrative forward. This would not be such a problem but without any form of internal narration from either of them the sense of the true relationship between April and her kids is unclear and makes this aspect feel isolated.
The cold hard realities of the failing marriage are spotted by the estate agent's son, a mentally unstable man temporarily allowed out of an asylum, a notable performance from Michael Shannon, who frankly and with spite notices the hypocrisies and deterioration within the Wheelers romance.
The film uses set-pieces and the supporting cast to attempt to heighten the magnitude of admittedly bravely performed sequences between DiCaprio and Winslet, eventually reaching an engaging, though predictable, climax. While the movie is certainly not revolutionary in terms of its portrayal of a declining marriage (the television series Mad Men set in a similar suburban setting does this with much more care and intricacy), it is a solid piece of work from Mendes but cannot approach his seminal American Beauty. However, one is left longing for a greater insight into why and how the relationship has reached this point to provide much needed groundwork to the frequent marital disputes.
Not revolutionary, but very powerful and moving
TheLittleSongbird25 January 2017
That 'Revolutionary Road' was directed by Sam Mendes (who directed the brilliant 'American Beauty' nine years earlier) and that it reunited two immensely talented actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet after 1997's 'Titanic' were reasons enough to see it.
'Revolutionary Road' may not be "revolutionary" and it is not perhaps a film that will be re-watched over and over by me. This said, there is so much to appreciate, there is no denying that it's incredibly well made and superbly acted. And to me and many others (though it is an understandably polarising film, the dark and unpleasant subject matter is not for everybody) it is a powerful and moving film, and one of the most realistic and truthful depictions of a struggling marriage on film.
Visually, 'Revolutionary Road' is wonderfully shot, bleak but also sumptuous, while the scenery and 50s production values are evocatively and handsomely rendered. Thomas Newman's music score is hauntingly hypnotic, achingly melancholic and at times ominous.
While at times stagy, the dialogue is insightful, making one really think about what it's saying (it has much to say and knows how to say it without preaching) and for many will wrench the gut and induce floods of tears. There is a little levity provided by Kathy Bates, that could have been ill-fitting but is pitched well. The story is deliberate, but the atmosphere is brilliantly evoked and there are many parts that have huge power and are emotionally devastating, especially in the latter parts.
Sam Mendes keeps things at an assured pace, keeps the atmosphere alive and doesn't undermine the chemistry between DiCaprio and Winslet in any way. DiCaprio and Winslet embody their roles, which are intentionally not the most likable, are very complex and very much compellingly real, and their chemistry is both tense and affecting. Winslet has the more complex one of the two and her performance is a heart-wrenching emotional roller-coaster, while DiCaprio gives an explosive turn especially in the fever pitch latter parts.
Michael Shannon proves himself to be a scene stealer as the brutally honest crazy nut, and Kathy Bates brings well-timed levity.
Overall, a powerful and moving film that is highly appreciated in many ways. 9/10 Bethany Cox
'Revolutionary Road' may not be "revolutionary" and it is not perhaps a film that will be re-watched over and over by me. This said, there is so much to appreciate, there is no denying that it's incredibly well made and superbly acted. And to me and many others (though it is an understandably polarising film, the dark and unpleasant subject matter is not for everybody) it is a powerful and moving film, and one of the most realistic and truthful depictions of a struggling marriage on film.
Visually, 'Revolutionary Road' is wonderfully shot, bleak but also sumptuous, while the scenery and 50s production values are evocatively and handsomely rendered. Thomas Newman's music score is hauntingly hypnotic, achingly melancholic and at times ominous.
While at times stagy, the dialogue is insightful, making one really think about what it's saying (it has much to say and knows how to say it without preaching) and for many will wrench the gut and induce floods of tears. There is a little levity provided by Kathy Bates, that could have been ill-fitting but is pitched well. The story is deliberate, but the atmosphere is brilliantly evoked and there are many parts that have huge power and are emotionally devastating, especially in the latter parts.
Sam Mendes keeps things at an assured pace, keeps the atmosphere alive and doesn't undermine the chemistry between DiCaprio and Winslet in any way. DiCaprio and Winslet embody their roles, which are intentionally not the most likable, are very complex and very much compellingly real, and their chemistry is both tense and affecting. Winslet has the more complex one of the two and her performance is a heart-wrenching emotional roller-coaster, while DiCaprio gives an explosive turn especially in the fever pitch latter parts.
Michael Shannon proves himself to be a scene stealer as the brutally honest crazy nut, and Kathy Bates brings well-timed levity.
Overall, a powerful and moving film that is highly appreciated in many ways. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Wheeler Family Values
bkoganbing2 September 2011
The Titanic lovers, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, get reunited for Revolutionary Road a tale of sterile life in the suburbs during the Eisenhower years. Not that this is anything new, the subject was done as comedy and as drama in such diverse films way back then as Rally Round The Flag Boys and Strangers When We Meet.
It's a nice story, but not one I could terribly worked up about. So Leonardo is working for some firm as a sales rep and it's a job he hates. Good for him, 90% of the American work force are in jobs that are just paychecks to support themselves and their families. Which Leo and Kate increased by two during the course of the film.
Seeing themselves in a rut, Kate lets fly the brilliant suggestion that he just quit and move to Paris. Not only that he should just 'find himself' and she'll work and support and raise the kids and him. Leo likes the idea, but then gets cold feet and it goes downhill from there.
Leo and Kate are fine, but the film just is not up to the standards set by Titanic. I sure cared a lot more about Jack and Rose than I did about either of the Wheelers. Nevertheless Revolutionary Road which is the name of the street the Wheelers live on in the film, got three Oscar nominations including one for Michael Shannon as the bipolar son of the Wheeler's neighbor Kathy Bates who sold them the house. Nowadays Shannon would be on his meds and leading a more productive life than he is here. Shannon lost for Best Supporting Actor to Heath Ledger for the Dark Knight.
Revolutionary Road is entertaining, but hardly groundbreaking.
It's a nice story, but not one I could terribly worked up about. So Leonardo is working for some firm as a sales rep and it's a job he hates. Good for him, 90% of the American work force are in jobs that are just paychecks to support themselves and their families. Which Leo and Kate increased by two during the course of the film.
Seeing themselves in a rut, Kate lets fly the brilliant suggestion that he just quit and move to Paris. Not only that he should just 'find himself' and she'll work and support and raise the kids and him. Leo likes the idea, but then gets cold feet and it goes downhill from there.
Leo and Kate are fine, but the film just is not up to the standards set by Titanic. I sure cared a lot more about Jack and Rose than I did about either of the Wheelers. Nevertheless Revolutionary Road which is the name of the street the Wheelers live on in the film, got three Oscar nominations including one for Michael Shannon as the bipolar son of the Wheeler's neighbor Kathy Bates who sold them the house. Nowadays Shannon would be on his meds and leading a more productive life than he is here. Shannon lost for Best Supporting Actor to Heath Ledger for the Dark Knight.
Revolutionary Road is entertaining, but hardly groundbreaking.
A dream is a wish your heart makes, then you wake up and it's time to go to work
Smells_Like_Cheese8 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
So a few weeks ago, my sister and I decided to watch a movie and wanted to see Titanic again, so of course we get to the sad ending where Jack dies, but Rose lived on to have an incredible life, I asked my sister "I wonder what would've happened if Jack lived? Would he and Rose really have lasted like they thought they would have?", she giggled and asked if I saw Revolutionary Road, I said no and she said to see this movie and my question would be answered. So here's something I never thought I would say, especially in 1997, thank God Jack died! OK, sorry for the lousy introduction, I always like to say how I saw the movie. But I didn't just want to see Revolutionary Road because of the reunion between the extremely talented Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, but also one of my favorite directors of all time Sam Mendes(American Beauty) who took on this project in the new telling of what the American Dream is and maybe it's not always what we had expected it to be.
Frank and April Wheeler moved to Revolutionary Road in one of New York City's wealthy Connecticut suburbs, and have a daughter and a son in hopes of living the American dream. But April is dissatisfied with her life as a suburban housewife, and Frank despises his marketing job at Knox Business Machines, where his father worked for twenty years in a similar position. They feel that they are unique and special, but trapped in the conformity of life in the suburbs, where they moved to raise their children. On Frank's birthday April surprises him with a birthday cake and a proposal that they move to Paris, with April working as a secretary to support the family so that Frank can discover what he truly wants to do in life. Frank is reluctant at first but ultimately embraces the idea, and the renewed optimism breathes fresh life into their relationship. Meanwhile, April becomes pregnant again, she wants an abortion and has bought a device she has heard is safe if used in the first twelve weeks. Frank disapproves. Later, Frank is offered a promotion and raise at work. Eventually he tells April that for the sake of the unborn baby he has decided not to go to Paris. Extremely unhappy, April starts to go crazy and screams her hatred for Frank as he still tries to continue to make the "perfect and comfortable" life for her.
This movie was really amazing, it's one of the most over looked Oscar wise from 2008, both Kate and Leonardo pull in heart wrenching performances. The thing about their characters is that I saw so much of my parents in them, they had all these amazing dreams together, were so in love, but then discover that life jumps in the front seat to what they really wanted to do. Kate's character, April, is receiving a lot of hate, but honestly I couldn't hate her, how could you? Yes, she said some awful things, but when it came down to it, she just wanted the man she fell in love with back again, she wanted to feel alive. The problem was both her and Frank were trying to run away from their problems, then Frank got comfortable; honestly, who knows what would have fixed their problems? But I do recommend Revolutionary Road, I really thought it's a small masterpiece and will get more recognition in the future I hope.
10/10
Frank and April Wheeler moved to Revolutionary Road in one of New York City's wealthy Connecticut suburbs, and have a daughter and a son in hopes of living the American dream. But April is dissatisfied with her life as a suburban housewife, and Frank despises his marketing job at Knox Business Machines, where his father worked for twenty years in a similar position. They feel that they are unique and special, but trapped in the conformity of life in the suburbs, where they moved to raise their children. On Frank's birthday April surprises him with a birthday cake and a proposal that they move to Paris, with April working as a secretary to support the family so that Frank can discover what he truly wants to do in life. Frank is reluctant at first but ultimately embraces the idea, and the renewed optimism breathes fresh life into their relationship. Meanwhile, April becomes pregnant again, she wants an abortion and has bought a device she has heard is safe if used in the first twelve weeks. Frank disapproves. Later, Frank is offered a promotion and raise at work. Eventually he tells April that for the sake of the unborn baby he has decided not to go to Paris. Extremely unhappy, April starts to go crazy and screams her hatred for Frank as he still tries to continue to make the "perfect and comfortable" life for her.
This movie was really amazing, it's one of the most over looked Oscar wise from 2008, both Kate and Leonardo pull in heart wrenching performances. The thing about their characters is that I saw so much of my parents in them, they had all these amazing dreams together, were so in love, but then discover that life jumps in the front seat to what they really wanted to do. Kate's character, April, is receiving a lot of hate, but honestly I couldn't hate her, how could you? Yes, she said some awful things, but when it came down to it, she just wanted the man she fell in love with back again, she wanted to feel alive. The problem was both her and Frank were trying to run away from their problems, then Frank got comfortable; honestly, who knows what would have fixed their problems? But I do recommend Revolutionary Road, I really thought it's a small masterpiece and will get more recognition in the future I hope.
10/10
Frighteningly real
LindaMDalena6 February 2009
Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio were the incentive of my going to see this film, and I could not be more convinced of their talent than I am after the two-hour brilliance.
This film is reality in its purest, yet magnificently artistic form the anger that is portrayed repetitively and in various occasions reminded me of the wrath I myself occasionally experience, from the overture of an argument to its climax; the screaming, the furious need to verbally and physically harm, punch, kick, no matter how much affection is felt towards the recipient. Even during the scenes that are meant to be tranquil, there is anxiety and tension hidden in their smiles, a sort of counterfeit politeness that should never be present in a happy relationship.
It is all a depiction of two genuine lives that have the potential of existing in complete harmony, yet cannot because of the stereotypical environment and situation they find themselves in. They both crave change, an alteration in their monotonous state of being, but because of the lengthy period of time that they have spent in such a circumstance, their mentality is differently modified. April (Kate Winslet) finds unreserved determination to leave to Paris and although her character seems at times erratic, we gradually come to understand that she is in fact the stronger personality of the two; she truly finds change favorable, whereas Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) seems to find the idea of change more flattering than change itself.
Each choice a person makes can change a life, and that life is not always theirs. This film shows us just how wrong something right can be, as well as how right something wrong can be.
This film is reality in its purest, yet magnificently artistic form the anger that is portrayed repetitively and in various occasions reminded me of the wrath I myself occasionally experience, from the overture of an argument to its climax; the screaming, the furious need to verbally and physically harm, punch, kick, no matter how much affection is felt towards the recipient. Even during the scenes that are meant to be tranquil, there is anxiety and tension hidden in their smiles, a sort of counterfeit politeness that should never be present in a happy relationship.
It is all a depiction of two genuine lives that have the potential of existing in complete harmony, yet cannot because of the stereotypical environment and situation they find themselves in. They both crave change, an alteration in their monotonous state of being, but because of the lengthy period of time that they have spent in such a circumstance, their mentality is differently modified. April (Kate Winslet) finds unreserved determination to leave to Paris and although her character seems at times erratic, we gradually come to understand that she is in fact the stronger personality of the two; she truly finds change favorable, whereas Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) seems to find the idea of change more flattering than change itself.
Each choice a person makes can change a life, and that life is not always theirs. This film shows us just how wrong something right can be, as well as how right something wrong can be.
Nothing "Revolutionary" about this road.
jfmvp17 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I couldn't help but feel disappointed when I walked out of the theater following "Revolutionary Road." My expectations were lofty because I loved what Sam Mendes did with "American Beauty" (10/10) and I was intrigued by "Jarhead" (7/10) as well. Of course the preliminary bar was set high for a film featuring both Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
And yet, I was underwhelmed by the final product that was "Revolutionary Road." No, this wasn't a clichéd case of setting the bar TOO high, because I always keep my pregame expectations in check. They're there, but I don't allow them to cloud my judgment.
Mendes was fine; his mise en scene was a bit mundane and predictable, yet still mostly effective. I would like to have searched for more subtlety when dealing with a director of Mendes' caliber, but it just wasn't there this time. Only shot that jumps out at me is the one of the sprinkler spout metaphorically separating April Wheeler from her family.
As for the performances, I felt that Winslet slightly outperformed Leo. Not that that's especially relevant, because neither performance was award-worthy. I'm shocked that Winslet could take home two Golden Globes in one year, when one of those Globes was awarded for her work in this film. She was good, but not outstanding.
I must tread carefully, though, because I shouldn't blame Winslet or DiCaprio for the shortcomings of the script. On the whole, the dialogue was absolutely painful -- nothing original came for seemingly endless sets of time. I'm aware that the screenplay was adapted from a novel, so perhaps the faults lie in the novel itself. Yet, that's not what I'm hearing from those who read and loved the book.
I was intrigued by the general concept of the film, because we all struggle with the internal conflict of our dreams vs. reality, and many of us struggle with the comfortable suburbia vs. monotonous suburbia conflict as well. But "Revolutionary Road" was overkill in both arenas. Just too much of the same throughout: calm before the storm, match, lit match, explosion. Calm before the storm, match, lit match, explosion.
Much of the repetition may have been intentional, but it simply wasn't effective. How Roger Ebert gave "Revolutionary Road" four stars out of four, absolutely boggles my mind.
This film is a 6/10, at best. If you love great cinema, you will be disappointed. "Revolutionary Road" is a level below.
And yet, I was underwhelmed by the final product that was "Revolutionary Road." No, this wasn't a clichéd case of setting the bar TOO high, because I always keep my pregame expectations in check. They're there, but I don't allow them to cloud my judgment.
Mendes was fine; his mise en scene was a bit mundane and predictable, yet still mostly effective. I would like to have searched for more subtlety when dealing with a director of Mendes' caliber, but it just wasn't there this time. Only shot that jumps out at me is the one of the sprinkler spout metaphorically separating April Wheeler from her family.
As for the performances, I felt that Winslet slightly outperformed Leo. Not that that's especially relevant, because neither performance was award-worthy. I'm shocked that Winslet could take home two Golden Globes in one year, when one of those Globes was awarded for her work in this film. She was good, but not outstanding.
I must tread carefully, though, because I shouldn't blame Winslet or DiCaprio for the shortcomings of the script. On the whole, the dialogue was absolutely painful -- nothing original came for seemingly endless sets of time. I'm aware that the screenplay was adapted from a novel, so perhaps the faults lie in the novel itself. Yet, that's not what I'm hearing from those who read and loved the book.
I was intrigued by the general concept of the film, because we all struggle with the internal conflict of our dreams vs. reality, and many of us struggle with the comfortable suburbia vs. monotonous suburbia conflict as well. But "Revolutionary Road" was overkill in both arenas. Just too much of the same throughout: calm before the storm, match, lit match, explosion. Calm before the storm, match, lit match, explosion.
Much of the repetition may have been intentional, but it simply wasn't effective. How Roger Ebert gave "Revolutionary Road" four stars out of four, absolutely boggles my mind.
This film is a 6/10, at best. If you love great cinema, you will be disappointed. "Revolutionary Road" is a level below.
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans
blanche-220 September 2014
Leonard DiCaprio and Kate Winslet star in "Revolutionary Road," a 2008 film directed by Sam Mendes. The film also features Kathy Bates and John Givings.
It's 1955. Frank and April Wheeler have been married seven years, live in the Connecticut suburb and have two children. Frank works for a company that his father worked for, and he hates his job. April is a stay-at-home mom who wanted to be an actress.
While it might look good on the outside, this isn't the life either one envisioned. But April has an idea. They have enough money saved so that they can move to Paris, a city Frank loves. She can get a job as a secretary, which pays very well over there, and Frank can stay at home and decide what he really wants to do with his life. It sounds possible but maybe not practical, though Frank ultimately agrees to it.
Frank can't seem to find the right moment to give his notice; and then April discovers that she is pregnant. What now? There are lots of layers in this emotionally resonant, magnificently acted film. It's very much a story of its time for several reasons. The first is that it's obvious that April suffers from very bad depression. Though post-war psychological problems were recognized, actual depression, especially in a woman, probably wasn't given much attention. It was the returning soldiers who had suffered trauma who had the psychiatric focus. If by some means she had been discovered to have clinical depression, the medicine was horrible.
The second thing is that it was 1955. The ideas of picking up and moving to Europe with your family and the woman as breadwinner were outrageous back then. Now, not so much.
The third reason is that April at least had an artist's mentality and an artist's way of looking at the world. In this world, we have the practical and the artist, as in the O'Neill play Beyond the Horizon, where one brother is a farmer and the other brother is a poet who dreams of going out to sea. The problem is, there's no way to kill those attributes, and if you try, you won't be happy. April shouldn't have been married, shouldn't have been living in the suburbs, and shouldn't have stayed home.
Frank is more practical, though he'd like to be different, would like to do something he loves, if only he knew what that was. April thought he was cosmopolitan, adventurous, and that together, they'd be special. The idea that they're not special is something she can't tolerate.
This is such a fascinating movie about life's disappointments, punctuated with some humor by Kathy Bates as Mrs. Givings, a loquacious woman, whose son (Michael Shannon) has been institutionalized. When he meets the Wheelers, he has an uncanny way of speaking exactly the truth no one wants to hear. Shannon does a fantastic job in these disturbing scenes.
A shattering movie. I like to be entertained in films. I feel like we all have so much to reality to face, why not be able to turn away from it - but a beautifully realized film like this about dysfunction - somehow, I don't mind.
It's 1955. Frank and April Wheeler have been married seven years, live in the Connecticut suburb and have two children. Frank works for a company that his father worked for, and he hates his job. April is a stay-at-home mom who wanted to be an actress.
While it might look good on the outside, this isn't the life either one envisioned. But April has an idea. They have enough money saved so that they can move to Paris, a city Frank loves. She can get a job as a secretary, which pays very well over there, and Frank can stay at home and decide what he really wants to do with his life. It sounds possible but maybe not practical, though Frank ultimately agrees to it.
Frank can't seem to find the right moment to give his notice; and then April discovers that she is pregnant. What now? There are lots of layers in this emotionally resonant, magnificently acted film. It's very much a story of its time for several reasons. The first is that it's obvious that April suffers from very bad depression. Though post-war psychological problems were recognized, actual depression, especially in a woman, probably wasn't given much attention. It was the returning soldiers who had suffered trauma who had the psychiatric focus. If by some means she had been discovered to have clinical depression, the medicine was horrible.
The second thing is that it was 1955. The ideas of picking up and moving to Europe with your family and the woman as breadwinner were outrageous back then. Now, not so much.
The third reason is that April at least had an artist's mentality and an artist's way of looking at the world. In this world, we have the practical and the artist, as in the O'Neill play Beyond the Horizon, where one brother is a farmer and the other brother is a poet who dreams of going out to sea. The problem is, there's no way to kill those attributes, and if you try, you won't be happy. April shouldn't have been married, shouldn't have been living in the suburbs, and shouldn't have stayed home.
Frank is more practical, though he'd like to be different, would like to do something he loves, if only he knew what that was. April thought he was cosmopolitan, adventurous, and that together, they'd be special. The idea that they're not special is something she can't tolerate.
This is such a fascinating movie about life's disappointments, punctuated with some humor by Kathy Bates as Mrs. Givings, a loquacious woman, whose son (Michael Shannon) has been institutionalized. When he meets the Wheelers, he has an uncanny way of speaking exactly the truth no one wants to hear. Shannon does a fantastic job in these disturbing scenes.
A shattering movie. I like to be entertained in films. I feel like we all have so much to reality to face, why not be able to turn away from it - but a beautifully realized film like this about dysfunction - somehow, I don't mind.
The road already traveled
doctorsmoothlove27 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
It's been a decade since Sam Mendes' debut picture American Beauty. That's a really long time for the movie-going public. People forget a film's uniqueness and directors repackage old material into a new movie, to the dismay of us film reviewers. Benjamin Button did that to Forest Gump, and Mendes has done it with his newest work. I'm not bold enough to make the claim that he simply re-released American Beauty as Revolutionary Road but the two are very similar. That's OK since American Beauty won several awards in various countries. It's still a worth a ticket price, but people will forget about this film in five years as American Beauty resurfaces in their minds.
The film is adapted from Richard Yates' extremely well-received novel, first published in 1961. It is an examination of American suburbia that blossomed in the '50s and the problems therein. Now, I think that such an observation would be especially meaningful when made in its own time but not as much now. Many other people, including Mendes himself, have already produced Revolutionary Road in both film and other media. This forces the movie to rely on something additional besides its tired premise. Revolutionary Road offers viewers a disturbingly lifelike representation of a failing marriage. Winslet and DiCaprio are so good that I found myself turning away frequently. After their characters marry and become parents, both actors are constantly uneasy. Neither portrayal is subdued. Even when they are not verbally abusing each other, both are under veils of artificial emotion. There are no feel-good elements to the picture. Revolutionary Road is as effective as any gruesome exploitative film in never allowing its audience a moment's respite. It's different from American Beauty in that distinct way. The film is pessimistic while its parent is inspiring.
Unlike American Beauty, the wife character is the one who envisions herself in a situation more grandiose. Winslet plays April, a former stage actress, who meets Frank Wheeler at a party and eventually marries him. They settle at "Revolutionary Road" suburb and raise a family. April suggests that Frank quit his office job and pursue his dream of moving to France. She even agrees to work while he determines his real interest. Things seem to be working until Frank receives a promotion which he accepts. Verbal violence ensues and April reveals that she is pregnant with the family's third child. Frank demands that she not abort the child, but secretly wishes that she would. She does it herself and dies of blood loss.
Mendes still has not analyzed the suburban problem in a sophisticated way. His newest film is stuffed with lazy and obvious symbolism that has no conclusion. April is unhappy, Frank is too comfortable to care if he's happy, and the audience wonders what these people would do if they actually went to France. It sounds like they would live the same boring life they had in America but in a foreign country. OK, I'll let Mendes slide on that one. Not on this one. April's death is tragic because it leaves the film unfinished. Death is the solution to obstacles we cannot overcome. We are condemned to live in a world over which we have no control and are resigned to suffer eternally. Revolutionary Road understands that statement but doesn't recognize human willpower. April says she doesn't love Frank, so why doesn't she just leave? There is no indication that she loves her children either so she has no excuse.
I'm going to do something unusual with this review. I'll give it three stars but not a recommendation. It's cool seeing Winslet and DiCaprio reunited in the antithesis of Titanic. Let's hope Mendes doesn't develop his sensei's (Tim Burton) knack for recycling characters and themes in his next project.
The film is adapted from Richard Yates' extremely well-received novel, first published in 1961. It is an examination of American suburbia that blossomed in the '50s and the problems therein. Now, I think that such an observation would be especially meaningful when made in its own time but not as much now. Many other people, including Mendes himself, have already produced Revolutionary Road in both film and other media. This forces the movie to rely on something additional besides its tired premise. Revolutionary Road offers viewers a disturbingly lifelike representation of a failing marriage. Winslet and DiCaprio are so good that I found myself turning away frequently. After their characters marry and become parents, both actors are constantly uneasy. Neither portrayal is subdued. Even when they are not verbally abusing each other, both are under veils of artificial emotion. There are no feel-good elements to the picture. Revolutionary Road is as effective as any gruesome exploitative film in never allowing its audience a moment's respite. It's different from American Beauty in that distinct way. The film is pessimistic while its parent is inspiring.
Unlike American Beauty, the wife character is the one who envisions herself in a situation more grandiose. Winslet plays April, a former stage actress, who meets Frank Wheeler at a party and eventually marries him. They settle at "Revolutionary Road" suburb and raise a family. April suggests that Frank quit his office job and pursue his dream of moving to France. She even agrees to work while he determines his real interest. Things seem to be working until Frank receives a promotion which he accepts. Verbal violence ensues and April reveals that she is pregnant with the family's third child. Frank demands that she not abort the child, but secretly wishes that she would. She does it herself and dies of blood loss.
Mendes still has not analyzed the suburban problem in a sophisticated way. His newest film is stuffed with lazy and obvious symbolism that has no conclusion. April is unhappy, Frank is too comfortable to care if he's happy, and the audience wonders what these people would do if they actually went to France. It sounds like they would live the same boring life they had in America but in a foreign country. OK, I'll let Mendes slide on that one. Not on this one. April's death is tragic because it leaves the film unfinished. Death is the solution to obstacles we cannot overcome. We are condemned to live in a world over which we have no control and are resigned to suffer eternally. Revolutionary Road understands that statement but doesn't recognize human willpower. April says she doesn't love Frank, so why doesn't she just leave? There is no indication that she loves her children either so she has no excuse.
I'm going to do something unusual with this review. I'll give it three stars but not a recommendation. It's cool seeing Winslet and DiCaprio reunited in the antithesis of Titanic. Let's hope Mendes doesn't develop his sensei's (Tim Burton) knack for recycling characters and themes in his next project.
Leo and Kate's world of pure suffering.
AngelDel14 May 2010
One of the reasons I keep devouring stories in general, and films in particular is that I firmly believe that the authors always have something to say, something worth being heard. A powerful message, if you may, about their view of life. A revelation to present the audience with, so we can leave the room with that "wow, life is just like that" feeling.
This message may be positive or negative, but it should always be believable within the reality of the film. I confess I rather prefer a positive one. Or, if negative, at least with a tiny bit of hope hidden somewhere, I rather not leave the room feeling miserable. But I understand some audiences may enjoy this and, in any case, it doesn't matter: it's your message, isn't it?
According to Justin Haythe (writer) and Sam Mendes (director), life is just too painful to be lived, too full of suffering and sorrow as to find the time to enjoy, create or love. We are hit with a most melodramatic picture of everyday events in a script that fails to create actual conflicts and believable drama. In such a farce, the luxury of the intense performances given by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are outrageously wasted.
Fans of the actors will undoubtedly enjoy it, of course, and such an effort certainly deserves recognition. But the story itself contributes nothing, neither to the film history wealth, nor to the poor audience's expectations, that are likely to feel rather down after the show, or even mad at the whole world for no apparent reason, just like the protagonist couple.
This message may be positive or negative, but it should always be believable within the reality of the film. I confess I rather prefer a positive one. Or, if negative, at least with a tiny bit of hope hidden somewhere, I rather not leave the room feeling miserable. But I understand some audiences may enjoy this and, in any case, it doesn't matter: it's your message, isn't it?
According to Justin Haythe (writer) and Sam Mendes (director), life is just too painful to be lived, too full of suffering and sorrow as to find the time to enjoy, create or love. We are hit with a most melodramatic picture of everyday events in a script that fails to create actual conflicts and believable drama. In such a farce, the luxury of the intense performances given by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are outrageously wasted.
Fans of the actors will undoubtedly enjoy it, of course, and such an effort certainly deserves recognition. But the story itself contributes nothing, neither to the film history wealth, nor to the poor audience's expectations, that are likely to feel rather down after the show, or even mad at the whole world for no apparent reason, just like the protagonist couple.
magnificent
Kirpianuscus2 September 2018
First, for the chemistry between Winslet and DiCaprio, Second - for the amazing performances of Kathy Bates and Michael Shannon. Not the last for the accuracy of recreated atmosphere. A splendid film because it seems escape out of script. And because it has the potential to be a film about its public. Each of us has dreams and regrets and desire of beginning. Each of us is confronted with decisions, responsabilities, duties. And the answer is not alwazs the best. So, a magnificent film about people, vulnerabilities, crisis and the cold solution.
Travel from South Pacific to the Cuckoo's Nest aboard the Ballad of Lucy Jordan
nick suess20 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Well, to be taken on such a journey really must have something for everyone, but along the way, we don't find out very much about these characters. What exactly was it on some enchanted evening that caused these two to spot one another as strangers across a crowded room? It seemed to be an artistic party, and must have been, as there was even a token black man there, something which would have been socially very unusual in the late 40s, even in NYC. So what was Frank, who claimed to be a longshoreman, doing there? Clearly April had some measure of artistic pretensions, and we flash forward and there she is 'starring' in the local small town am-dram production. Pity it's a flop, but she is already sufficiently off her trolley to take this as a sign that her entire life is useless. And we do get the impression that she is already in the habit of turning her marital favours on and off like a tap. So Frank has had enough, and pretty soon it's wombat time for him.
We ask ourselves where can they go from here? To our great surprise, it is the inspiration of a pic of Frank as a young GI at the liberation of Paris that leads April to instantly decide the cure for their increasingly troubled marriage is to pack up everything and move to that romantic city she has never visited.
And so the fantasy drags on. To try and get the boss off his back, Frank spouts some piece of impromptu bullshit, and is instantly proclaimed a genius and offered promotion beyond his wildest dreams. That's conflict point 1 with the Paris plan, and simultaneous conflict point 2 is that April gets up the duff. I think this was about the conflict point at which I began to realise I was hungry, and wondered how much longer this would all go on.
But then it got better. Introduce the local loony to upstage the lot of them, and hey, we even had a bit of 'Beautiful Mind' in there, as he had a PhD in maths! His brain had been fried by electric shocks, which had destroyed the maths, but led him to have an uncanny perception about those around him. He, as the 'fool on the hill' saw through the entire thing, and nobody liked that.
Now, Lucy Jordan, the woman who "realised she'd never drive through Paris in a sports car with the warm wind in her hair" lived then and continues to live in so many of us who eke out our dull suburban lives, raising our children, and growing old. Lucy Jordan is not new. Telling her story over is valid for us to watch and learn, and for going into that zone, and asking those difficult questions, I am prepared to raise my vote to 7/10. But where was the attempt to answer the questions?
In many ways I found myself admiring April at that point, as despite her fairly unsympathetic character she did dare to dream. I can remember the 50s, and the stifling pressures of that era to conform, these being laid down by an older generation simply grateful to be alive and free after the horror of two global conflicts. I was strongly reminded of a wonderful aunt who likewise defied that society by undertaking Bohemian travel all over Europe. Single and childless, and based in London, she had far fewer issues than April to confront, but I still think she made her important decisions upon the basis of more than just an old snapshot of the Eiffel tower, which was all that seemed to get April started. Was that how her decision was made? I did sympathise more with Frank, the brief shot of him as one of the swarm of trilby hats emerging from Grand Central was very powerful, evocative of 'Koyaanisqatsi'. Despite the numbing boredom of his job, he was knuckling down and getting on with raising his kids. And here suddenly was this notion, a brief fleeting glimpse of a seductively different life. But how was his decision made? Why did he suddenly flip from 'no' to 'yes', especially with the already growing realisation that he was married to a fruit cake? You see, in a story such as this, I expect the movie maker to really take us into some depth on the genuine conflict we face when being confronted by difficult decisions. Maybe the book explored this, but I haven't read it. Mendes cops out of it completely. So we are left with just the loony to tell us the truth.
Maybe we should listen more carefully to lunatics!
We ask ourselves where can they go from here? To our great surprise, it is the inspiration of a pic of Frank as a young GI at the liberation of Paris that leads April to instantly decide the cure for their increasingly troubled marriage is to pack up everything and move to that romantic city she has never visited.
And so the fantasy drags on. To try and get the boss off his back, Frank spouts some piece of impromptu bullshit, and is instantly proclaimed a genius and offered promotion beyond his wildest dreams. That's conflict point 1 with the Paris plan, and simultaneous conflict point 2 is that April gets up the duff. I think this was about the conflict point at which I began to realise I was hungry, and wondered how much longer this would all go on.
But then it got better. Introduce the local loony to upstage the lot of them, and hey, we even had a bit of 'Beautiful Mind' in there, as he had a PhD in maths! His brain had been fried by electric shocks, which had destroyed the maths, but led him to have an uncanny perception about those around him. He, as the 'fool on the hill' saw through the entire thing, and nobody liked that.
Now, Lucy Jordan, the woman who "realised she'd never drive through Paris in a sports car with the warm wind in her hair" lived then and continues to live in so many of us who eke out our dull suburban lives, raising our children, and growing old. Lucy Jordan is not new. Telling her story over is valid for us to watch and learn, and for going into that zone, and asking those difficult questions, I am prepared to raise my vote to 7/10. But where was the attempt to answer the questions?
In many ways I found myself admiring April at that point, as despite her fairly unsympathetic character she did dare to dream. I can remember the 50s, and the stifling pressures of that era to conform, these being laid down by an older generation simply grateful to be alive and free after the horror of two global conflicts. I was strongly reminded of a wonderful aunt who likewise defied that society by undertaking Bohemian travel all over Europe. Single and childless, and based in London, she had far fewer issues than April to confront, but I still think she made her important decisions upon the basis of more than just an old snapshot of the Eiffel tower, which was all that seemed to get April started. Was that how her decision was made? I did sympathise more with Frank, the brief shot of him as one of the swarm of trilby hats emerging from Grand Central was very powerful, evocative of 'Koyaanisqatsi'. Despite the numbing boredom of his job, he was knuckling down and getting on with raising his kids. And here suddenly was this notion, a brief fleeting glimpse of a seductively different life. But how was his decision made? Why did he suddenly flip from 'no' to 'yes', especially with the already growing realisation that he was married to a fruit cake? You see, in a story such as this, I expect the movie maker to really take us into some depth on the genuine conflict we face when being confronted by difficult decisions. Maybe the book explored this, but I haven't read it. Mendes cops out of it completely. So we are left with just the loony to tell us the truth.
Maybe we should listen more carefully to lunatics!
Thirsting for
cdoyle-327 December 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Love, it's a curious thing. When it's fresh it is new, it is exciting and you wake up every morning just aching to spend another day with the person you love. Then you get married, have kids perhaps and things change. You fight. You fight over NOTHING. You grow to loathe the person you used to love to wake up next to. The world closes in on you and things don't seem the same anymore. You daydream about what life used to be like, how much love you used to be in and ask yourself - what happened??? Frank and April Wheeler meet and fall in love at a party. They talk about how their lives are going to be extraordinary and they are going to be different. They are going to live in Paris. They are never going to be "those people" in the suburbs. That isn't what life has in store for them. However life happens, April gets pregnant and they have to settle for a life more ordinary than they had planned for with the promise that someday, they will return to their dreams and complete them.
The Wheeler's dreams do not ever become reality and as the bleak expanse of life stretches out ahead of April she decides to reach out for her personal brass ring and convince Frank that they are better than their home on Revolutionary Road and Frank's job with his father's company and are meant for the greatness that they once talked about having in Paris. April quickly begins to hope again that not only will her life change to what it should have been but that her and Frank will fall back in love again. Frank falls in love with the idea and agrees to go, but has reservations about leaving the job he hates but that gives him a purpose in life. The plans are only a temporary band-aid as their glass house of dreams tumble around them and become a shattered illusion of what it used to be.
This movie is not one that you will send your entire family to see - or even your good friends. It isn't one that everyone will get or even WANT to get. However, this movie will tear out the heart of the people that have been in a relationship that has gone sour and were powerless to stop it. You try everything to stop the inevitable train wreck you see coming but yet, it still ends in a fiery crash and you stand and wonder how your life could end up this way. That's Frank and April and you will come to love and hate them by the end of this movie.
The acting in this movie is beyond amazing because it's simple and not overdone by the lead actors. Many things are not ever said - nor needed to be said - and were played with a flick of emotion across the face. I watched this movie expecting Kate to be the one to blow me away as usual and was shocked when it was Leo that knocked my socks off. I felt little sympathy for Frank in the novel but in the movie he plays him so well you can't help but feel sorry for him. I must mention that the supporting roles in this movie are nothing to sneeze at as well.
If you are looking for a wholesome family movie that will melt your heart, this isn't it. However, if you are willing to deal with a bit of stark reality - this is the movie for you. It rocked me harder than American Beauty ever did.
The Wheeler's dreams do not ever become reality and as the bleak expanse of life stretches out ahead of April she decides to reach out for her personal brass ring and convince Frank that they are better than their home on Revolutionary Road and Frank's job with his father's company and are meant for the greatness that they once talked about having in Paris. April quickly begins to hope again that not only will her life change to what it should have been but that her and Frank will fall back in love again. Frank falls in love with the idea and agrees to go, but has reservations about leaving the job he hates but that gives him a purpose in life. The plans are only a temporary band-aid as their glass house of dreams tumble around them and become a shattered illusion of what it used to be.
This movie is not one that you will send your entire family to see - or even your good friends. It isn't one that everyone will get or even WANT to get. However, this movie will tear out the heart of the people that have been in a relationship that has gone sour and were powerless to stop it. You try everything to stop the inevitable train wreck you see coming but yet, it still ends in a fiery crash and you stand and wonder how your life could end up this way. That's Frank and April and you will come to love and hate them by the end of this movie.
The acting in this movie is beyond amazing because it's simple and not overdone by the lead actors. Many things are not ever said - nor needed to be said - and were played with a flick of emotion across the face. I watched this movie expecting Kate to be the one to blow me away as usual and was shocked when it was Leo that knocked my socks off. I felt little sympathy for Frank in the novel but in the movie he plays him so well you can't help but feel sorry for him. I must mention that the supporting roles in this movie are nothing to sneeze at as well.
If you are looking for a wholesome family movie that will melt your heart, this isn't it. However, if you are willing to deal with a bit of stark reality - this is the movie for you. It rocked me harder than American Beauty ever did.
A missed opportunity
howard.schumann18 January 2009
In life, we either have the things that we want or the reasons why we do not have them. Based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates, Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road tackles the issue of what it would take to go beyond the reasons and create a life of authenticity. The film reunites the popular stars of Titanic, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, as a suburban couple, Frank and April Wheeler, who see themselves as special but whose mediocre lives do not reflect their ideals. Set in suburban Connecticut in the 1950s, the main protagonists mirror the growing intellectual malaise and search for meaning that lay beneath the outward superficiality of the "affluent society", an undercurrent that would give birth to the counterculture and the more open social environment of the 1960s.
As they move into their new house on Revolutionary Road with their two small children, Michael (Ty Simpkins) and Jennifer (Ryan Simpkins), Frank (DiCaprio) and Alice (Winslet) are determined not to be trapped by their surroundings but their self-deception and inertia ensures that they will get what they resist. They devise schemes to escape that seem plausible on the surface, but fail to confront the fact that they are comfortable in being the people that they used to mock. Ultimately, the gap between their aspirations and their ability to achieve them leads to growing frustration and an inevitable breakdown in their relationship that has sad consequences.
The film opens when Frank and Alice spot each other at a party and the closeness of their dancing indicates a strong chemistry between them. Flashing forward seven years, however, the promise of the opening scene has deteriorated to bickering conflict. Alice, who aspires to be an actress, is disappointed with her performance in the local theater and, on the drive home, becomes furious with Frank who berates her acting ability. Frank is now a thirty-year-old salesman for a business machines corporation in Manhattan, the same company his father worked for, and professes to hate his job.
Recognizing their untenable situation, Alice proposes that they sell their house and move to Paris where she can work in the NATO secretarial pool and Frank can "find himself" and begin to live the life he has dreamed of. Initially reluctant, Frank slowly warms to the idea, seeing it as a way to obtain a release from the suburban mentality personified by Frank's co-workers and neighbors Shep (David Harbour) and Milly Campbell (Kathryn Hahn) who view their proposed move as radical and silly. When Frank is praised at a job for a report he has written and offered a promotion and higher salary by Bart Pollack (Jay O. Sanders), however, doubts begin to surface about the Paris decision.
Soon the couple's arguments take on a more vicious tone, their confidence undermined by visits to their home by their realtor Helen Givings (Kathy Bates), her husband Howard (Richard Easton), and their mentally disturbed son John (Michael Shannon). Free from social restraints, John unleashes a searing indictment of Frank and Alice's values and his verbal thrusts are the film's power point. As a final straw, Alice reveals that she is pregnant and ideas about Paris must be re-evaluated. Fine performances by Winslet and DiCaprio support a solid, workmanlike effort by Mendes, but the film lacks the poetry that would raise it to another level and the dialogue is often self-conscious and overly theatrical. What could have been a work of power and beauty becomes instead a missed opportunity and, in Mendes' hand, Revolutionary Road is a dead end street.
As they move into their new house on Revolutionary Road with their two small children, Michael (Ty Simpkins) and Jennifer (Ryan Simpkins), Frank (DiCaprio) and Alice (Winslet) are determined not to be trapped by their surroundings but their self-deception and inertia ensures that they will get what they resist. They devise schemes to escape that seem plausible on the surface, but fail to confront the fact that they are comfortable in being the people that they used to mock. Ultimately, the gap between their aspirations and their ability to achieve them leads to growing frustration and an inevitable breakdown in their relationship that has sad consequences.
The film opens when Frank and Alice spot each other at a party and the closeness of their dancing indicates a strong chemistry between them. Flashing forward seven years, however, the promise of the opening scene has deteriorated to bickering conflict. Alice, who aspires to be an actress, is disappointed with her performance in the local theater and, on the drive home, becomes furious with Frank who berates her acting ability. Frank is now a thirty-year-old salesman for a business machines corporation in Manhattan, the same company his father worked for, and professes to hate his job.
Recognizing their untenable situation, Alice proposes that they sell their house and move to Paris where she can work in the NATO secretarial pool and Frank can "find himself" and begin to live the life he has dreamed of. Initially reluctant, Frank slowly warms to the idea, seeing it as a way to obtain a release from the suburban mentality personified by Frank's co-workers and neighbors Shep (David Harbour) and Milly Campbell (Kathryn Hahn) who view their proposed move as radical and silly. When Frank is praised at a job for a report he has written and offered a promotion and higher salary by Bart Pollack (Jay O. Sanders), however, doubts begin to surface about the Paris decision.
Soon the couple's arguments take on a more vicious tone, their confidence undermined by visits to their home by their realtor Helen Givings (Kathy Bates), her husband Howard (Richard Easton), and their mentally disturbed son John (Michael Shannon). Free from social restraints, John unleashes a searing indictment of Frank and Alice's values and his verbal thrusts are the film's power point. As a final straw, Alice reveals that she is pregnant and ideas about Paris must be re-evaluated. Fine performances by Winslet and DiCaprio support a solid, workmanlike effort by Mendes, but the film lacks the poetry that would raise it to another level and the dialogue is often self-conscious and overly theatrical. What could have been a work of power and beauty becomes instead a missed opportunity and, in Mendes' hand, Revolutionary Road is a dead end street.
No wonder no one says "swell" anymore!
Anonymous_Maxine5 March 2009
My grandparents still consider the 1950's to be the golden age of pure, unblemished Americanism. A time when teenagers were respectful, parents were bright, smiling examples of friendly authority, sex was post-marital and marriage was a time of apple pies and cheerful strolls down the charming neighborhood lane. I don't know at the moment if my grandparents have seen Revolutionary Road, but rarely do movies come along when the opinions of our elders would almost surely prove to be enormously valuable and insightful.
The movie is based on the novel by Richard Yates, which attacked the very normality and pleasant conformity of the 1950's that forms the basis of so much of the modern nostalgia about it today. There has been a lot of expectation about the movie that would bring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet together again for the first time in more than a decade, but the romance that they share in Revolutionary Road could not possibly be more different from the one they developed on the Titanic.
They are Frank and April Wheeler, an outwardly charming husband and wife who live in a beautiful dream house on Revolutionary Road. They radiate an atmosphere of perfection and happiness and are loved by the neighbors. We meet them just after they've made what they promised each other was only a temporary move from Manhattan to the sprawling suburbs. The movie begins with April in an unsuccessful play, and we learn very quickly about their relationship in the car on the way home as Frank thoughtfully assures her that it's okay that she didn't become an actress, it's not her fault that the play was lousy, and then in the fight that ensues, Frank tells her that she acts "sick" when she gets mad like this.
It seems that the most important thing that Frank and April embody about the traditional 1950s couple was the routine sacrificing of dreams upon the altar of conformity and fulfilling expectations. April dreams of a romantic life in Paris, and Frank has artistic ambitions as well. But he is stuck in a job that he hates despite a good salary, they have two kids already and a third accidentally on the way, and adultery's going on left and right.
April suggests that they drop everything and move to Paris where, with money that she could make working combined with whatever they could get for the house, they could live comfortably until he could get on his feet artistically and they could both live the lives they have always dreamed of. They are doing what is expected of them already, but they're both deeply unhappy and they see no improvement ahead.
It is one of the movie's more successful tragic moments in the way that everyone Frank and April know react to the news that they are moving. Responses range from friendly disbelief to outward remarks of irresponsibility and suggestions that such a move would be "irresponsible." It's hard to watch Frank and April let go of their dreams when it was right in their grasp.
It's not unrealistic, ladies and gentlemen. It's uncommon and unexpected, but unrealistic? Irresponsible? I should hope not! It's commonly believed to be irresponsible and unrealistic, but it's not, trust me. I'm doing it myself. I left a job in Los Angeles two years ago that paid well but that I didn't like, and I've been living in China (decidedly less romantic than Paris, I admit) ever since. I now have a job that pays less than I made in LA, but my lifestyle is much more comfortable and I work 10 hours a week, which leaves me time to pursue my artistic endeavors. See how that works?
Granted, I don't have any kids, but I also didn't have a house to sell to put together some money to support myself while I found work. "I just think people are better off doing some kind of work that they actually like," Frank complains. I tend to agree.
But ultimately life gets in the way, as they say. A gossipy real estate agent, played perfectly by Kathy Bates, makes friends with April and nervously asks if she might bring over her son John, who has been in a mental institution and who she thinks might benefit from meeting a happy couple like April and Frank. April agrees, but when John comes over, it seems that his only mental problem is an inability to adhere to accepted models of conformity, which manifests itself mostly in the form of cutting through other peoples' facades like warm butter and laying bare the sad, bitter reality of their lives. When he does this with April and Frank, the results are not pretty, but they are some of the best movie moments of 2008.
Kate and Leo both approach perfection in their performances. Both of them have appeared in other brilliant films in 2008 (Kate in The Reader and Leo in Body of Lies), but in Revolutionary Road their performances reach such a level of pitch and depth that, when combined, they reverberate against each other and turn into something entirely different. If there were an Oscar for the best combination of two performances, there would be no need for any other nominees.
Revolutionary Road is not the most uplifting film of the year (although it's also not nearly as depressing as, say, Rachel Getting Married), but it is definitely among the most important. It's not so much that the movie attacks conformity, but that it attacks that little voice inside us that prevents us from doing what we really want in life because it goes against the accepted norm. Watching the movie kind of takes a bite out of you, but it takes a bite of that part of you that gets in the way of your dreams.
The movie is based on the novel by Richard Yates, which attacked the very normality and pleasant conformity of the 1950's that forms the basis of so much of the modern nostalgia about it today. There has been a lot of expectation about the movie that would bring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet together again for the first time in more than a decade, but the romance that they share in Revolutionary Road could not possibly be more different from the one they developed on the Titanic.
They are Frank and April Wheeler, an outwardly charming husband and wife who live in a beautiful dream house on Revolutionary Road. They radiate an atmosphere of perfection and happiness and are loved by the neighbors. We meet them just after they've made what they promised each other was only a temporary move from Manhattan to the sprawling suburbs. The movie begins with April in an unsuccessful play, and we learn very quickly about their relationship in the car on the way home as Frank thoughtfully assures her that it's okay that she didn't become an actress, it's not her fault that the play was lousy, and then in the fight that ensues, Frank tells her that she acts "sick" when she gets mad like this.
It seems that the most important thing that Frank and April embody about the traditional 1950s couple was the routine sacrificing of dreams upon the altar of conformity and fulfilling expectations. April dreams of a romantic life in Paris, and Frank has artistic ambitions as well. But he is stuck in a job that he hates despite a good salary, they have two kids already and a third accidentally on the way, and adultery's going on left and right.
April suggests that they drop everything and move to Paris where, with money that she could make working combined with whatever they could get for the house, they could live comfortably until he could get on his feet artistically and they could both live the lives they have always dreamed of. They are doing what is expected of them already, but they're both deeply unhappy and they see no improvement ahead.
It is one of the movie's more successful tragic moments in the way that everyone Frank and April know react to the news that they are moving. Responses range from friendly disbelief to outward remarks of irresponsibility and suggestions that such a move would be "irresponsible." It's hard to watch Frank and April let go of their dreams when it was right in their grasp.
It's not unrealistic, ladies and gentlemen. It's uncommon and unexpected, but unrealistic? Irresponsible? I should hope not! It's commonly believed to be irresponsible and unrealistic, but it's not, trust me. I'm doing it myself. I left a job in Los Angeles two years ago that paid well but that I didn't like, and I've been living in China (decidedly less romantic than Paris, I admit) ever since. I now have a job that pays less than I made in LA, but my lifestyle is much more comfortable and I work 10 hours a week, which leaves me time to pursue my artistic endeavors. See how that works?
Granted, I don't have any kids, but I also didn't have a house to sell to put together some money to support myself while I found work. "I just think people are better off doing some kind of work that they actually like," Frank complains. I tend to agree.
But ultimately life gets in the way, as they say. A gossipy real estate agent, played perfectly by Kathy Bates, makes friends with April and nervously asks if she might bring over her son John, who has been in a mental institution and who she thinks might benefit from meeting a happy couple like April and Frank. April agrees, but when John comes over, it seems that his only mental problem is an inability to adhere to accepted models of conformity, which manifests itself mostly in the form of cutting through other peoples' facades like warm butter and laying bare the sad, bitter reality of their lives. When he does this with April and Frank, the results are not pretty, but they are some of the best movie moments of 2008.
Kate and Leo both approach perfection in their performances. Both of them have appeared in other brilliant films in 2008 (Kate in The Reader and Leo in Body of Lies), but in Revolutionary Road their performances reach such a level of pitch and depth that, when combined, they reverberate against each other and turn into something entirely different. If there were an Oscar for the best combination of two performances, there would be no need for any other nominees.
Revolutionary Road is not the most uplifting film of the year (although it's also not nearly as depressing as, say, Rachel Getting Married), but it is definitely among the most important. It's not so much that the movie attacks conformity, but that it attacks that little voice inside us that prevents us from doing what we really want in life because it goes against the accepted norm. Watching the movie kind of takes a bite out of you, but it takes a bite of that part of you that gets in the way of your dreams.
Certainly Something Missing,
lesleyharris306 February 2015
Revolutionary Road is a great movie with a well developed storyline and a terrific cast.It is certainly a well acted movie,though it is certainly not their finest performances,Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet both shine in the lead roles,and their acting has certainly improved over the eleven year gap of Titanic,both movies contain great chemistry between DiCaprio and Winslet,but this time around it felt more real and sincere.I felt like there were certainly several things missing than could have made this movie better,one thing is that it certainly would have benefited with making us feel for these characters more,I found them quite unlikable for the most part,and at times that certainly made it difficult for me to care about the decisions they make or the things that happen to them.I also think it needed more scenes containing intense dialogue between the Wheeler's,these parts were the highlight of the movie as Winslet and DiCaprio both deliver their dialogue beautifully.Its certainly not outstanding and could have benefited more from its two leads,but Revolutionary Road is still a very enjoyable film that I would recommend to anyone looking for a good drama or romantic film.
A seemingly successful couple in 1950s Connecticut struggle to fight off the boredom and resentment their marriage is facing.
Best Performance: Kate Winslet
A seemingly successful couple in 1950s Connecticut struggle to fight off the boredom and resentment their marriage is facing.
Best Performance: Kate Winslet
Powerful - not for the oblivious
wl32328 December 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Revolutionary Road has been adapted from the same named novel of Richard Yates. The setting is a suburban area on the east coast in the mid-1950s. Surely there have been many changes of values in gender, society, and family over the decades. Yet,Revolutionary Road, whether the film or the novel, has never lost its power of confronting us, people living in the globalized 21st century, with all the existential issues – questions about life. This is the only movie that I have ever seen which can pose philosophical questions directly yet without compromising the engaging power of drama to its audience. It throws at us with questions about the meaning of life, our responsibility to live an authentic life, our freedom to make choices and decisions, our desire to connect with others and maintain independence, the fine line between the sane and the insane, the limitations of life, etc.
Apparently, April and Frank are diametrically opposite. April is revolutionary, striving for making changes and acting out her desires; Frank is reactionary, always playing safe and following paths opened by others. But, this is not true. Frank was ambitious before marriage. He conformed to the norm for a while, but deep down he felt regretful for the lost dream. Without that intrinsic desire, April would not be able to talk him into moving to Paris at all. (Again, Paris is just a symbol). What is less obvious but crucial for the development of the story is April's passiveness to life. All we see is she pushing Frank to live a life he wants. But what about her? What is her passion about life? We just vaguely know that she wants to be special and live an interesting life. But what exactly it is about? Acting, maybe. But she decided to quit after some setback. Instead of dealing with her own disappointment, fear, uncertainty towards her dream, she averts her frustration by imposing her dream on Frank, making him believe it and actualize it. In doing so, she saved herself from failure to achieve her dream. But, she forbore her responsibility to live a life she wants. In short, both April and Frank possess the same two conflicting dynamics in their minds. It is just that the director highlights the contrast between the pair in order to create a tug-of-war situation, which effectively generates a tension throughout the movie. It is very hard to side with either April or Frank because they were in one in the first place. Personally, half of me goes with April and half of me goes with Frank.
Despite the fact that the story is thickly embedded with philosophical propositions, Revolutionary Road is still a very touching love story. From the moment April thrust her dream into Frank's hand, their love was doomed. Being disillusioned and feeling trapped in a life she hates, April became numb to life. There was no more love in her. As what she and Frank had said to their lunatic neighbor, life became empty and hopeless to April. That's how the love's gone. So was the unborn baby. So was April. A funny question arises from Frank's definition of insanity: according to Frank, insanity is the inability to communicate with another human being and inability to love. How many of us are totally sane then?
As always, DiCaprio's acting is wonderful. He is particularly convincing when getting across the vulnerability of Frank. Kate Winslet performs well. However, when I expected some liveliness in April at certain points in the movie, I did not see it. The dialogues and the cinematography are very clever and powerful. We as the audience might have left the theater with a lot of questions that we fear to answer. Just as likely, we might have walked away in reminiscene of our own struggles about living truthfully.
This is a dense movie and worth another viewing at least.
Apparently, April and Frank are diametrically opposite. April is revolutionary, striving for making changes and acting out her desires; Frank is reactionary, always playing safe and following paths opened by others. But, this is not true. Frank was ambitious before marriage. He conformed to the norm for a while, but deep down he felt regretful for the lost dream. Without that intrinsic desire, April would not be able to talk him into moving to Paris at all. (Again, Paris is just a symbol). What is less obvious but crucial for the development of the story is April's passiveness to life. All we see is she pushing Frank to live a life he wants. But what about her? What is her passion about life? We just vaguely know that she wants to be special and live an interesting life. But what exactly it is about? Acting, maybe. But she decided to quit after some setback. Instead of dealing with her own disappointment, fear, uncertainty towards her dream, she averts her frustration by imposing her dream on Frank, making him believe it and actualize it. In doing so, she saved herself from failure to achieve her dream. But, she forbore her responsibility to live a life she wants. In short, both April and Frank possess the same two conflicting dynamics in their minds. It is just that the director highlights the contrast between the pair in order to create a tug-of-war situation, which effectively generates a tension throughout the movie. It is very hard to side with either April or Frank because they were in one in the first place. Personally, half of me goes with April and half of me goes with Frank.
Despite the fact that the story is thickly embedded with philosophical propositions, Revolutionary Road is still a very touching love story. From the moment April thrust her dream into Frank's hand, their love was doomed. Being disillusioned and feeling trapped in a life she hates, April became numb to life. There was no more love in her. As what she and Frank had said to their lunatic neighbor, life became empty and hopeless to April. That's how the love's gone. So was the unborn baby. So was April. A funny question arises from Frank's definition of insanity: according to Frank, insanity is the inability to communicate with another human being and inability to love. How many of us are totally sane then?
As always, DiCaprio's acting is wonderful. He is particularly convincing when getting across the vulnerability of Frank. Kate Winslet performs well. However, when I expected some liveliness in April at certain points in the movie, I did not see it. The dialogues and the cinematography are very clever and powerful. We as the audience might have left the theater with a lot of questions that we fear to answer. Just as likely, we might have walked away in reminiscene of our own struggles about living truthfully.
This is a dense movie and worth another viewing at least.
Leo and Kate riding the boat again
dromasca4 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
One decade after American Beauty Sam Mendes directs another strong melodrama located in the American suburbs, going back in time to the mid of the 50s at the time the powerful suburban myth and way of life was born. Mendes is cruelly X-raying the feelings and the conflicts of the generation that exited victorious from the war, enjoyed the post-war prosperity and fathered the baby bloom, a generation that made it materially but seemed to fail emotionally and culturally, falling into conventionalism and emptiness which only the late 60s flower generation will wipe away.
As principal actors Mendes brings back together Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, the royal couple made famous by Titanic. This film seems to a certain extent a negation of the big love story in Cameron's blockbuster, and Leo and Kate's act make their relation in the film dramatic, credible and even memorable in its best moments. Actually the whole cast is wonderfully chosen and another performance to remember belongs to Michael Shannon who is playing the hospitalized son of the neighbors who under the cover of his mental problems plays the role of the Shakespearean fool, telling the truth in face of his guests.
Great acting and some memorable cinema scenes like the starting train ride and parade of hats from the suburbs to the city at the beginning cannot yet make from an interesting film a great one. The principal problem of 'Revolutionary Road' seemed to me to be the theatrical setting of many of the dialogs in the film. The evolution of the relationship between the two heroes, the emptiness of their lives, and the failure to fill them with content are being told in scenes that may looks better on a Broadway stage but less on a cinema screen. It's really a shame, as Mendes seems to be a creator really capable of strong visual impact. However, the two talents of Sam Mendes visual expressed and directing his actors cannot get together to make of 'Revolutionary Road' the great film it could be.
As principal actors Mendes brings back together Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, the royal couple made famous by Titanic. This film seems to a certain extent a negation of the big love story in Cameron's blockbuster, and Leo and Kate's act make their relation in the film dramatic, credible and even memorable in its best moments. Actually the whole cast is wonderfully chosen and another performance to remember belongs to Michael Shannon who is playing the hospitalized son of the neighbors who under the cover of his mental problems plays the role of the Shakespearean fool, telling the truth in face of his guests.
Great acting and some memorable cinema scenes like the starting train ride and parade of hats from the suburbs to the city at the beginning cannot yet make from an interesting film a great one. The principal problem of 'Revolutionary Road' seemed to me to be the theatrical setting of many of the dialogs in the film. The evolution of the relationship between the two heroes, the emptiness of their lives, and the failure to fill them with content are being told in scenes that may looks better on a Broadway stage but less on a cinema screen. It's really a shame, as Mendes seems to be a creator really capable of strong visual impact. However, the two talents of Sam Mendes visual expressed and directing his actors cannot get together to make of 'Revolutionary Road' the great film it could be.
Revolutionary Road" is an all around beautifully, artistically crafted film with powerhouse performances
afterglow1-7231 December 2008
A show-stopping Leonardo DiCaprio becomes Frank Wheeler, with remarkable power and an insight we only get from the greatest kind of actors. Allowing the audience to become fully immersed in his psyche, letting us feel everything with him. Living his pain, resentment, and the smörgåsbord of emotions in between. It is a highly accomplished piece of acting from the lead actor that I cannot imagine being ignored come this award season. Frank is a flawed man that many people will be able to see aspects of themselves in. Not being satisfied with marriage, family, work. Feeling we are meant or destined for something greater, yet paradoxically feeling the doubt and insecurity in ourselves to really go after it. He's depressed, has a past he can't seem to let go of, he's arrogant, he's a liar, he's manipulative and in many ways immature. Yet we know him. He's our father growing up, he's a brother, friend or possibly even you. He makes mistakes and is almost embarrassingly human. What I found ultimately tragic about him was not the way in which he lied to others but the way in which he lied to himself. Leo DiCaprio uses his expressive face to brilliant effect as Frank. He was terrific in "Aviator" , "Blood Diamond", "This Boy's Life" and others and has rightfully earned his place as one of the finest actors of his generation. Having said that, this is a whole new layer to DiCaprio that none of us have seen before. He brings a new, mature type of authentic subtlety to his craft. He doesn't resort to any big physical transformation. It's all internal. This is a new height for him, and easily the greatest acting of his career. A performance of great emotional intensity and depth that I can say without hesitation, will be remembered for generations to come.
Kate Winslet plays April Wheeler with a sharp fervor. She is angry, depressed and intensely believes she and Frank are destined for something greater than a life of conformity in the burbs. She is a tragic character in that she is basically a closed book, she shuns the love that people try to give her, she is a free spirit and quite the handful. She comes up with an idea to break free of the conformity she shares with her husband in an attempt to revive their marriage and at first it seems to work - the passion for life and each other reignited. But after an unexpected event and other factors, will the dream plan go through?
The chemistry between Winslet and DiCaprio in "Revolutionary Road" reminded me in many ways of the chemistry between Liz Taylor and Richard Burton in the 1966 film "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". They create an intensity in their arguments that is electric and palpable. You cannot take your eyes off them, they glue you to the screen and stick it to each other as sharply as the couple from "Virginia Woolf" were able to. Frank and April's story is grounded in a greater, more painful reality, however. DiCaprio's raging sobs are chilling.
The film is very dark. And the honesty practically guts you in some cases, so I don't think everyone will love it. Watching it was emotionally draining. Sam Mendes certainly did his job well here. It's his greatest film since "American Beauty".
Kate Winslet plays April Wheeler with a sharp fervor. She is angry, depressed and intensely believes she and Frank are destined for something greater than a life of conformity in the burbs. She is a tragic character in that she is basically a closed book, she shuns the love that people try to give her, she is a free spirit and quite the handful. She comes up with an idea to break free of the conformity she shares with her husband in an attempt to revive their marriage and at first it seems to work - the passion for life and each other reignited. But after an unexpected event and other factors, will the dream plan go through?
The chemistry between Winslet and DiCaprio in "Revolutionary Road" reminded me in many ways of the chemistry between Liz Taylor and Richard Burton in the 1966 film "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". They create an intensity in their arguments that is electric and palpable. You cannot take your eyes off them, they glue you to the screen and stick it to each other as sharply as the couple from "Virginia Woolf" were able to. Frank and April's story is grounded in a greater, more painful reality, however. DiCaprio's raging sobs are chilling.
The film is very dark. And the honesty practically guts you in some cases, so I don't think everyone will love it. Watching it was emotionally draining. Sam Mendes certainly did his job well here. It's his greatest film since "American Beauty".
Start this Revolution Without Me **1/2
edwagreen28 December 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Despite the incredibly fine acting by Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, this picture is nothing more than "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? of this century.
Frank and April are anything but love-birds. They're just great at tormenting each other as we see in two major screaming scenes.
The name April to me represents spring and the coming of flowers. April Wheeler as depicted by Kate Winslet is anything but that. She is a frustrated woman who thinks that by moving to Paris with Frank (DiCaprio) and their two children, they can start life anew. She defies the conventional times of the 1950s by saying that she will work in Paris while Frank gets the time to find himself. He loathes his job.
Complications derail their plan when Frank is offered a promotion and April becomes pregnant.
Something is terribly wrong when an emotionally disturbed man, the son of real estate person Kathy Bates, has the situation terribly correct. Is this a one flew over the cuckoo's nest syndrome? Bates looks like a typical elementary school principal of that period. She pretends to be friendly but inwardly harbors resentment towards the Wheelers.
The film is basically devoid of the true meaning of life. In fact, it seems to attack that very idea.
The fact remains that April Wheeler wouldn't attain happiness if she were in Paris, Shangri La or on the beach in Honolulu.
Remember when Bogie said to Bergman in Casablanca, "We always had Paris?" That great city is not the answer here.
Frank and April are anything but love-birds. They're just great at tormenting each other as we see in two major screaming scenes.
The name April to me represents spring and the coming of flowers. April Wheeler as depicted by Kate Winslet is anything but that. She is a frustrated woman who thinks that by moving to Paris with Frank (DiCaprio) and their two children, they can start life anew. She defies the conventional times of the 1950s by saying that she will work in Paris while Frank gets the time to find himself. He loathes his job.
Complications derail their plan when Frank is offered a promotion and April becomes pregnant.
Something is terribly wrong when an emotionally disturbed man, the son of real estate person Kathy Bates, has the situation terribly correct. Is this a one flew over the cuckoo's nest syndrome? Bates looks like a typical elementary school principal of that period. She pretends to be friendly but inwardly harbors resentment towards the Wheelers.
The film is basically devoid of the true meaning of life. In fact, it seems to attack that very idea.
The fact remains that April Wheeler wouldn't attain happiness if she were in Paris, Shangri La or on the beach in Honolulu.
Remember when Bogie said to Bergman in Casablanca, "We always had Paris?" That great city is not the answer here.
The hopeless emptiness
hall8954 February 2011
At one point in this film the key characters, in discussing their own lives, mention the "hopeless emptiness" of it all. And thus in one line of dialogue is the entire movie summed up rather neatly. Empty for sure and bordering on hopeless Revolutionary Road is pretty much an all-around failure. It's a movie about an unhappy 1950s suburban couple who feel trapped in their own little world. They're disappointed in their lives and harbor fanciful notions of somehow getting away from it all. They're suburban nobodies who want to be somebodies. If the audience could say anything to this screen couple it would probably be "get over yourselves".
Revolutionary Road is one of those movies which goes out of its way to thoroughly depress you. That's fine but if it insists on depressing you is it too much to ask that it entertains you somewhere along the way too? No such luck with this movie. Entertainment value is practically nil, nothing interesting ever seems to happen. Frank and April Wheeler are unhappy. They fight, fight some more, make up for a bit, fight some more and bemoan how miserable their lives have turned out to be. This goes on and on for two hours as the audience tries to stifle yawns. Frank and April are terrible bores. Their friends and neighbors are bores. One of their friends has a rather insane son who pops in a couple of times to inject some personality and life into the movie. Michael Shannon plays that part and makes a better impression than any of the big stars do. At least his character does some memorable things. But his scenes are all too fleeting. All too soon we're back to Frank and April throwing fits about the terrible state of their lives. Which rings rather hollow when you consider 99 percent of the world's population would kill to have the "boring", "hopeless", "empty" lives the Wheelers so detest. They have it pretty darned good but they've deluded themselves into thinking they deserve better. They don't. Their lives are just fine. Hopeless? Empty? Really, get over yourselves. Please.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are both fine performers and they make the best they can out of this mess. The performances aren't the problem, the story is. And the characters. Never for a moment do we sympathize with Frank and April and that right there would be enough to doom the movie to failure. Who can identify with these people? Who would want to? DiCaprio and Winslet took on rather thankless roles in portraying this couple. With all the bickering and fighting there is an opportunity for the stars to go somewhat over the top at times and engage in a bit of scenery-chewing. But aside from that you really wouldn't criticize them. The stars don't let down the movie, the movie lets down its stars. There is so little for them to work with. The story is not engaging at all. It's a dull, boring movie in which very little of consequence ever happens. As such maybe it does capture all that emptiness the characters feel in their lives. But it makes for an empty movie.
Revolutionary Road is one of those movies which goes out of its way to thoroughly depress you. That's fine but if it insists on depressing you is it too much to ask that it entertains you somewhere along the way too? No such luck with this movie. Entertainment value is practically nil, nothing interesting ever seems to happen. Frank and April Wheeler are unhappy. They fight, fight some more, make up for a bit, fight some more and bemoan how miserable their lives have turned out to be. This goes on and on for two hours as the audience tries to stifle yawns. Frank and April are terrible bores. Their friends and neighbors are bores. One of their friends has a rather insane son who pops in a couple of times to inject some personality and life into the movie. Michael Shannon plays that part and makes a better impression than any of the big stars do. At least his character does some memorable things. But his scenes are all too fleeting. All too soon we're back to Frank and April throwing fits about the terrible state of their lives. Which rings rather hollow when you consider 99 percent of the world's population would kill to have the "boring", "hopeless", "empty" lives the Wheelers so detest. They have it pretty darned good but they've deluded themselves into thinking they deserve better. They don't. Their lives are just fine. Hopeless? Empty? Really, get over yourselves. Please.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are both fine performers and they make the best they can out of this mess. The performances aren't the problem, the story is. And the characters. Never for a moment do we sympathize with Frank and April and that right there would be enough to doom the movie to failure. Who can identify with these people? Who would want to? DiCaprio and Winslet took on rather thankless roles in portraying this couple. With all the bickering and fighting there is an opportunity for the stars to go somewhat over the top at times and engage in a bit of scenery-chewing. But aside from that you really wouldn't criticize them. The stars don't let down the movie, the movie lets down its stars. There is so little for them to work with. The story is not engaging at all. It's a dull, boring movie in which very little of consequence ever happens. As such maybe it does capture all that emptiness the characters feel in their lives. But it makes for an empty movie.
A beautiful, well-crafted Masterpiece. One of the best of the decade
Red_Identity25 December 2008
Revolutionary Road is not a very joyful film, or is it easy to watch. Instead of being simply entertaining, it achieves what not many films these days do. It wants to be a learning lesson.
This film is superbly crafted, in both the writing and the amazing direction by Sam Mendes. After his great film 'American Beauty', he comes back with strong will to do this project. His direction is the best of the year for sure. It feels so professional, so alive. The writing, both of the characters, Frank and April Wheeler, I feel they are so open and 3-dimensional characters, but the screenplay wants to let us inside their lives, and it does so with great passion. Leonardo Dicaprio plays Frank with such intensity, with such force. Dicaprio gives his best performance here without a doubt, since I don't really think he has ever done something like this before. Then there is Kate Winslet. My favorite actress, and certainly one of the most talented out there. Winslet has surprised me before in a lot of movies, but here, she surprises me in a whole other way. Her silent, unlikeable, and sometimes human and cold portrayal of April Wheeler is one of the best performances of the decade. She gives the best female performance of the year, and I truly hope she finally wins the Oscar she deserves.
The film itself is so beautiful, so alive, yet at the same time, so dark to what the film is about. The cinematography is amazing, as well as the costumes and the whole set designs. The music, the original score, was so unsettling, perfectly balanced to what each scene brought.
Revolutionary Road is not a film for everyone. I can definitely see some critics will hate it, but it should certainly be respected, for its ambition, for the things it accomplishes and every thing it portrays. I think this is Mendes' masterpiece. I have not seen a better made film this year.
This film is superbly crafted, in both the writing and the amazing direction by Sam Mendes. After his great film 'American Beauty', he comes back with strong will to do this project. His direction is the best of the year for sure. It feels so professional, so alive. The writing, both of the characters, Frank and April Wheeler, I feel they are so open and 3-dimensional characters, but the screenplay wants to let us inside their lives, and it does so with great passion. Leonardo Dicaprio plays Frank with such intensity, with such force. Dicaprio gives his best performance here without a doubt, since I don't really think he has ever done something like this before. Then there is Kate Winslet. My favorite actress, and certainly one of the most talented out there. Winslet has surprised me before in a lot of movies, but here, she surprises me in a whole other way. Her silent, unlikeable, and sometimes human and cold portrayal of April Wheeler is one of the best performances of the decade. She gives the best female performance of the year, and I truly hope she finally wins the Oscar she deserves.
The film itself is so beautiful, so alive, yet at the same time, so dark to what the film is about. The cinematography is amazing, as well as the costumes and the whole set designs. The music, the original score, was so unsettling, perfectly balanced to what each scene brought.
Revolutionary Road is not a film for everyone. I can definitely see some critics will hate it, but it should certainly be respected, for its ambition, for the things it accomplishes and every thing it portrays. I think this is Mendes' masterpiece. I have not seen a better made film this year.
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