Review 570: Revolutionary Road
Based on the novel Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. In the 1950's, Frank and April Wheeler (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) are a passionate young couple living in suburban Connecticut who decide to risk everything to pursue their dreams. They're willing to break away from the ordinary - but can they do it without breaking apart?
On one level, Revolutionary Road is very much a period peice given its 50's setting and an exploration of that time period but at the same time (according to director Sam Mendes) it's a contemporary and modern story which deals with very modern concerns. It's a very tragic love story about two people who feel they are supposed to be together but can't find a way to make it work. It's alos about the complexitys of marriage and how you don't have honesty in a relationship then thing get burried and built up, pent up and strained until eventually everything comes to the surface.
At the heart of Revolutionary Road is a simple but profound and deeply affecting theme: that most human beings are inescapably alone and therein lies the tradgedy. For all their dreams, Frank and April are unable to communicate them to each other; this syndrome is also seen in the other characters such as Shep and Milly Campbell (Kathryn Hahn and David Harbour) and Helen and Howard Givings (Kathy Bates and Richard Easton). The Wheelers' frustations and yearnings for something better represent the tattered remnants of the American Dream. Their desire to move to Paris shows that they want to be non-conformists. The Campbells are a sharp contrast to them.
In those days, there was an enormous emphasis on conformity and everything; the way people dressed. There was a sense of optimism behind it but there wasn't an opportunity to individuate yourself from the crowd.
Opening in a very Woody Allen-esque way, Revolutionary Road The cinematography is gorgeous and captures the beauty & cleanliness of 50's suburban Connecticut, the production design (recreating the 50s) is excellent and brimming with detail. The costumes are colourful, the score by Thomas Newman is beautiful,
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are mesmirising in this film. The roles of Frank and April Wheeler are about the furthest thing from Jack and Rose as you could get. Early in the film, Mendes takes his time to highlight their different lifestyles, Frank working as a salesman at Knox Machines, (looking like Don Draper from Mad Men) and April working as a stat-at-home wife. Within their relationship, there's a certain amount of love but there's also a certain amount of expectation of what they had in mind for their own lives so
Michael Shannon
Kathryn Hahn and David Harbour
5/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
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