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Revolutionary Road

Written by backrowcritic

Friday, 12 December 2008 08:45

Revolutionary Road

Director:

Sam Mendes

Writers:

Justin Haythe
Richard Yates

Starring:

Kate Winslet
Leonardo DiCaprio

Quote:

You see, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve.

The truth never goes away – people just get better at lying.

Ahhh, the fifties. The post-war era where young people were told to get married, buy a house in the suburbs and have a couple of children. The time when you’d see an army of people walk from the train station to jobs they hate that will support the illusion of life they convinced themselves to buy into. Oh wait, that’s still going on. Just not in your house - right?

Frank (Leonardo Di Caprio) plays a young husband and father going through a mid-life crisis and April (Kate Winslet) is the woman who married him based on the idea of who he could become. We’ve all heard versions of this story: Boy meets girl. Girl finds boy fascinating. Girl gets pregnant. Boy feels obligated to marry and get a real job instead of following his dreams. They have more kids. He takes on a job he hates to pay the bills while she tries a way to define herself as more than a mother. Each makes promises to the other that they don’t keep.

Then they have an idea: Let’s chuck it, move to Paris and be happy.

I came to the screening without reading the book, so I had no idea that the entire film was going to be the examination of a marriage on the edge. If I had, I’m sure that likely comparisons to those old Taylor & Burton movies would have come to mind. However, this piece goes beyond the two people screaming in a room dynamic. It shows an entire generation suffering from the ennui of doing what you’re “supposed” to do, as opposed to you want and channels it through one particular couple. There are problems both obvious and insidious. There are tensions born and suffered in silence and fester until someone finally explodes. And being trapped in the conventions of America in 1955 seems only to amplify them. There are no marriage, career or parenting counselors; you’re just supposed to suck it up and figure it out. You root for them to stick with their plan and get to Paris, but we realize that it’s not the move; it’s the dream of a fresh start and the possibility of a better life together. All they have to do is keep their promises.

Whereas I was emotionally whipped by the end of the film, I will say that Kate & Leo have given masterful and unmatched performances, and was one of the best films I’ve seen all year. Di Caprio has been choosing some wonderful parts over the years, but now I see him embodying the character and get past his baby face. Winslet as always, just eats up the screen, and will surely get another Best Actress nomination from the academy. Let’s hope she finally wins this time!

http://www.revolutionaryroadmovie.com/

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