Revolutionary Road (movie)

Frank and April Wheeler are the ideal young couple in 1950's suburbia--bright, vibrant, and convinced that their home on Revolutionary Road isn't permanent. Frank and April's huge argument erupts as a result of that dream shattering, with Frank's dead-end job not exactly lending itself commensurate to his romantic visions of life. April suggests a return to the spirit of youth and spontaneity in the form of a move to Paris, and Frank eventually agrees, but it seems that life and reality have other plans for the couple.

This movie has so many powerhouses behind it, it's hard to imagine a version where it turned out badly. It's directed by Sam Mendes, who did American Beauty which is a gorgeous, gorgeous film; it reunites Mendes' very own wife Kate Winslet with romantic Titanic co-star Leonardo DiCaprio; it's got Kathy Bates; and it's based on one of the greatest triumphs of modern fiction, Richard Yates' novel of the same name.

The direction is a visual feast, and credit must be given to the set designer--I even recognized earthenware my grandmother had from the fifties.

But on to the characters, and the plot, and the writing. The examination of the relationship between Frank and April (and Revolutionary Road) is the key to the entire story; in fact, one reason I had so much trouble relating to them was that I couldn't imagine any normal people who paid so little attention to their children. Most of the time the children didn't exist in the film (probably an authorial and therefore directorial choice to lend more focus to the leads--but it's still incredibly jarring that the children appear briefly, and only when it's convenient).

The film got its point across very cleanly, and the tragedy was unpredictable without knowing the source material. Frank was relatable as a character until he sold out for security; unfortunately, April's character was chilly at best, although by the end she had somehow become the most sympathetic. This movie is an odd creature in that it brings you so incredibly close to two human beings, yet a connection is still difficult to establish. You can only sit there, wishing you could change things for the better, hoping you can knock some sense into these people as Helen Givings' (Kathy Bates) lunatic son tries to do (played in a stunning performance by Michael Shannon). And while Winslet and DiCaprio's performances are central to the film, the tremendous talent of the supporting cast truly evens out the tone of the film.

Unfortunately for us, tragedy is inevitable, and in an ironic twist of fate it's no longer Frank we sympathize with, but April. And while it may be enlightening and gruesome to watch the drama unfold, I have to question how much of a ring of truth some of it felt. Aside from the children not existing, a lot of the explosive fights had dialogue that felt a touch histrionic, with many "Oh God, April,"s, and "Jesus, Frank"s. Sometimes this was even enough to distract from the scene when I had to ask myself Would this really happen? Would someone just come out and say that? A brilliant film in the study of the human condition, and phenomenal taken as a whole, Revolutionary Road nonetheless lacks the heart and relatability which make so many other films a success. That doesn't make it any less worth seeing, though. Just don't expect to get too invested.

-elln