Movie Notes: Revolutionary Road

March 6th, 2010

= 4 stars

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates
Directed by Sam Mendes

Synopsis

Set in 1955, Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April Wheeler (Kate Winslet) tire of their safe, suburban life in Connecticut and plan a move to Paris.

The Good

• Questions the entire “settling down” routine, where for the sake of raising a family, parents defer their own dreams. Our elaborate societal constructs of cubicles, jobs, and houses can become a glass prison, but an unusually sadistic one, where fellow inmates unconsciously prevent anyone from leaving, ensuring mutual unhappiness.
• Solid performances by DiCaprio and Winslet, particularly DiCaprio who swings from charm to unhinged anger and heart-breaking sadness. Most of the film’s best moments contain the pair playing off each other, with moments of heated conversation seeming painfully familiar to anyone in a relationship where compromises are inevitably made.
• Some great directorial moments: one perfect cut indicates attraction, the drop-out of a soundtrack a seduction, and a crazy guest falls out of focus in the background, with Winslet in the foreground, cigarette smoldering, visually depicting her attempt to ignore his words.
• Plot-wise, an awareness of what is better left out: Frank and April’s early romance isn’t shown, and periods where nothing much happens are omitted.

The Bad

• Predictable — you know this can’t end well from the opening moments where Frank sleeps with a secretary.
• The nostalgic and suburbia ennui elements sometimes come off as Mad Men lite, notably the office guys, a bored housewife (Betty Draper is still tops), and the introduction of the children.
• The whole “suburbia-is-hell” routine has been done before.

Conclusion

Despite a predictable plot, performances by DiCaprio and Winslet are worth seeing. Recommended.

IMDB: Revolutionary Road
Wikipedia: Revolutionary Road
Rotten Tomatoes: Revolutionary Road 69%