Revolutionary Road Movie
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Storyline
TAGLINES
How do you break free without breaking apart?
A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Based on a novel by Richard Yates.
| John Behlmann | Mr. Brace |
| David Campbell | Vito's Bartender |
| Evan Covey | Campbell Son 2 |
| Sean Cullen | Frank's father |
| Leonardo DiCaprio | Frank Wheeler |
| Jason Etter | Vito's Dancer #3 |
| Rob L. Hubbard | Bar Patron |
| Les Gardonyi | Beach goer |
| Gregory Guy Gorden | Knox Employee |
| David Harbour | Shep Campbell |
| Sean Marrinan | Commuter |
| Dylan Clark Marshall | Campbell son |
| Timothy McCartney | Young Frank |
| Brennan McKay | Duke Mantee |
| Sam Mendes |
7.80 out of 10 (23528 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Brooding with intelligence and thoughtfulness
posted on 30 Aug 2009Sam Mendes' fourth feature in ten years is a harsh and thoughtful look at Richard Yates classic-novel with the same name. It stars Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet for the first time since 1997's Titanic, though anyone in hope of experiencing the epic love the two last performed on screen is in for a big lackluster, because this is a torn and frayed piece of love with tragic outcomes.The directing of Mendes is likely 2008's best, he is with huge thought using his leading but also importantly supporting actors, to painfully reveal layers of emotions - and although there are few real close-ups, it gently but with firmness paces scenes that gives the audience time to linger and feel with them. The score of Thomas Newman is intense and goes deep into the soul of the characters, it tightens the screws of something that's already unbearable. Shot by master-cinematographer Roger Deakins the film glows in a palette of hard realism, but also the lyrical glare of the novel.DiCaprio is truly turning into one of the finest in the acting elite, his incredible run of great performances the last few years is here again a proof of his maturing and fantastical acting-skills. Winslet has already anchored her Golden Globe, as she again showcases herself as one of the best actresses in Hollywood. Worth mentioning is also the terrific performances by the supporting cast; Kathy Bates (always great), and the neighbor-couple Milly and Shep (Kathryn Han and David Harbour) and off course Michael Shannon as John Givings, a retarded man who comes just in time to see behind the shades "happiness" in April and Frank Wheeler's "special" marriage.REVOLUTIONARY ROAD is among 2008's best films and is a depressing look at life with a brooding reality that makes it a difficult and ponderous experience.
Dark, depressing and completely unrewarding
posted on 30 Aug 2009If you like to watch mundane, depressing people lament over their lives for two hours, you are in for a real treat. Bringing out morbid and highly unattractive performances from Hollywood actors seems to be Sam Mendes' strength, and in Revolutionary Road he has outdone himself. The characters in American Beauty are all sweet-as-pie, angelic beings of light compared to the protagonists here. There is no payoff – it's just two hours of cringing. Nothing beautiful is expressed, nothing valuable is preached, nothing heartening is communicated. I would sooner watch a 3 year old throw an hour long temper tantrum than sit through this again.
Not the Brady Bunch
posted on 29 Aug 2009I suspect that many people watching "Revolutionary Road" will expect to see some sort of romantic comedy. Put Leonardo DiCaprio together with Kate Winslet and would it not be reasonable to expect something romantic? Nothing could be further from the truth. "Revolutionary Road" is often confronting. It deals with tough themes within an unsettled marriage. It is anything but romantic.
Based on the novel by Richard Yates, "Revolutionary Road" is set in 1950s Connecticut. Frank Wheeler (DiCaprio) is a young company man trying to make a way ahead for his wife and two kids. He works for the same company that previously employed his father in New York. He is bored. However, his wife, April (Winslet) is beyond boredom. She is quite depressed and hates her lifestyle. This is unfortunate as her lifestyle would be the envy of so many people. The family is well off and there are two happy children.
It is the interaction of husband and wife that forms the basis of the film. At times, this can be extremely discomforting to the viewer. Yet it always seems plausible. The characters have cred. The film's ending is also traumatic. Don't go looking for a happy reconciliation between husband and wife.
Notwithstanding the film's troubling theme, "Revolutionary Road" is worth the effort. The viewer is rewarded with a gritty insight to a dysfunctional family. Both DiCaprio and Winslet are excellent in their roles.
An emotional journey
posted on 29 Aug 2009Very fine movie-making by everyone in this.
Sam Mendes directs with a sure, but very sensitive hand.
He was helped immensely by an emotionally tight screenplay by Justin Haythe (adapted from the novel by Richard Yates).
His two main actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet deliver touching performances.
Keep on trucking, Mendes.
The tragedy that is Revolutionary Road
posted on 29 Aug 2009Simply put, Revolutionary Road is a hard film to watch.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet turn in fantastic performances as April and Frank Wheeler, the "perfect" couple on the block. They have it all: the perfect house, the perfect family, the perfect 1950's lives. At least, that's how it appears to outsiders.
April, we see in the very beginning of the film, is trying to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. The play she stars in, however, ends up a failure. We see the first of many huge fights that she and Frank will have. April eventually succumbs to the role of Frank's housewife, spending her days in beautiful clothes while she keeps house and watches over their children, who are rarely around.
Frank realizes on his birthday that he is miserable in his current job. He has ended up in the one position he never wanted to be in--just like his father. He notices a pretty new girl at the office and takes her out to lunch with bad intent, which is fulfilled later on that day. While this is going on, April was going through some old photographs and happened upon a snapshot of a younger Frank in Paris, France and remembered a talk they had when Frank mentioned how happy he was then.
Frank comes home that night, wearing his guilt all over his face when April meets him at the door, dressed nicely and acting warm. He follows her into the kitchen where she and the kids have a birthday cake waiting for him and he makes no effort to hide the pain in his face. April approaches him later that night with her new plan: they can move to Paris and start all over again. She offers to look for a job and Frank can stay home and decide what he truly wants to do. It's perfect!
Except, it's not perfect. After a short period of bliss, April ends up pregnant and Frank is offered a high-paying promotion to stay at his job. This wouldn't be so hard to work around if April wasn't slowly realizing that she can't stand Frank anymore. This is evident when she admits that she never wanted his children in the first place and when he confesses his affair to her, she doesn't care in the least.
Ironically, the only person who saw through their facade the entire time was mathematician John Givings, (Michael Shannon), the son of the Wheelers' realtor, Helen Givings, (Kathy Bates), who they agreed to spend some time with since John has been recently released from a mental hospital and didn't really have any friends. John cuts right to the core of their problems and lays it all out on the table for them, almost resulting in Frank decking him in front of everyone.
April becomes more and more depressed and miserable as the movie goes on. She is trapped with this man that she can no longer tolerate, she is stuck in this house in Connecticut and she is pregnant with another child she does not want. The audience can predict what is going to happen as the film progresses but it does not make the ending any easier to watch. There is no emotional let-up in this film. It grabs you by the collar and forces your eyes open, making you take it all in.
All in all, this was a very powerful film and an excellent drama. You can definitely see how DiCaprio has finely honed his craft over the years. He looks older but not burned out, only more experienced. The excited child in him is gone and has been replaced by a mature man. The expressions on his face are truly heartbreaking and a sign of incredible acting prowess. You truly believe that he really does love April and can't understand why it's not reciprocated.
Winslet is incredible as well. You can relate to the position she is in and you can even understand how she resolves her dilemma. She is a strong woman who is gradually beaten down into a weaker and weaker woman by the environment around her. What do you do when there's nothing you can do? She helps us understand exactly where she's coming from.
This could be the sequence of Titanic?
posted on 28 Aug 2009Imagine if Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet character has survived "Titanic" and really made it alive to the newfoundland, America. Their loving passionate never ending love in their 20's might just end up like this in their 30's, a angry couple living in suburban city, can't fell satisfied with their "boring hopeless empty" life. Oh, and the car love scene, also have one in "Titanic" but with a whole different atmosphere which increase the irony.Di Caprio play a husband who have a boring yet well paid salesman job which he hate. Winslet play a housewife and a failed actress wannabe. Is this a trend lately in Hollywood? Same as "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" that life in US is a "hopeless emptiness" and people should move to the romantic Europe, Paris in this case to finally can "live life". And if you are forced to stay their big house, a small wood to have an afternoon walk, then what you can do is do a little extra to "spice thing up".And hey, the director, Sam Mendes, who's work "American Beauty" is totally amazing, is Kate Winslet husband. And Winslet won another best actress from Golden Globe from this movie. Oh boy, Di Caprio must hate her a lot now, cause he miss winning any award both in the "Titanic" and this. But the truth is Winslet is amazing, her acting, expression and the sadness, agony in her eye really make us understand her character perfectly. And Di Caprio look like a boy not yet grown up, his acting is dull sometimes, and great in some scene. He's not that consistent, and I can't figure out in the dinner with boss scene, is his expression is mocking someone in his head, or thinking things over? In the 1950 Connecticut, apparently speaking out the truth although the horrible truth might distress the society, chasing dreams, running away from responsibility is consider insane, ands should be put in the asylum, for God shake. The property agent family with their "crazy" Math PHD son, and their next door couple is a nice touch, without them the movie won't be complete.Adapted from a book by Richard Yates, and this is a story that will keep you pondering after the end. And wondering what is right or wrong? Maybe nothing is right or wrong, it's just the choices we made in life.
complete waste of time
posted on 27 Aug 2009Remind me why KW was nominated.......maybe because husband was the director (?!)..........LD was the better actor but the film was all over the place.................was this supposed to be ENTERTAINMENT..............why didn't she shoot herself or her husband an hour into the film and we could have saved some time.
COMPLETE waste of time.
Dysfunctional suburban couple gone mad
posted on 27 Aug 2009"Revolutionary Road" is a serious downer, with one of the most depressing criticisms of suburbia ever seen in a film.
However, we cannot blame Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. They do a fantastic job as Frank and April Wheeler, raising the drama to the extreme. One will definitely wonder how on Earth the couple in the film stuck together for so many years.
They play a couple living in Connecticut in a suburban home in the 1950s. Frank works at a mind-numbing cubicle, while April cares for the kids at home. From the start, Frank clearly hates his job and the suburbs.
But when Frank comes home, April gives him the wonderful idea to move his family to Paris. His neighbors and his co-workers are not as thrilled, however. They find every opportunity to convince him to stay at their home on Revolutionary Road.
At first glance, this appears to be a realistic version of "The Truman Show," minus all the high security gizmos. But "Revolutionary Road" takes a turn to the dark side as their family matters grow from bad, to worse, to almost unbearable.
It's not as if the characters are completely off-the-hook and emotional. Kate Winslet plays her part masterfully as a mother who loathes Frank's overdependency on her. And DiCaprio is just as magnificent as an strict, two-timing husband lacking some moral values.
No, it's just that the subject matter is too excessively dark. Whereas "American Beauty" has eloquent, poetic dialogue, "Revolutionary Road" plays out like an evil suburban soap opera. The high-strung tension in the film gets overwhelming near the end. In spite of the stylish direction by Sam Mendes, the gritty script will make people wonder how the hell this couple could ever get along in real life.
"Revolutionary Road" is still a great film, with classy 50s tunes and snappy outfits. But it might be a tad too dark, even for DiCaprio fans.
Everything This Movie Has to Say Has Been Said Before and Said Better
posted on 26 Aug 2009The subject of suburban misery and malaise, and the myth of the American dream, has been dealt with so frequently in movies, television and literature that you may wonder what more there is to say about the topic. If "Revolutionary Road" is any example, the answer is: not much. Indeed, the whole time I was watching this strangely insubstantial film from director Sam Mendes, the only thing I could think of were all the other movies I've seen that have dealt with the same themes and dealt with them better.Frank and April Wheeler are the miserably married couple at the center of this story. Frank, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, goes off to work in a featureless anthill of a company, diddling the occasional office girl on the side. April stays home and frets over the acting career that never materialized for her and rebelling against the stifling sameness of suburbia that she feels she's better than. Most of the film consists of monotonous scenes of these two screaming at each other. I guess it's meant to be a sort of modern-day "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", the story of a married couple who could be helping one another but instead decide to tear each other apart, except that the material isn't nearly as interesting as Edward Albee's play, and neither are the characters.For "Revolutionary Road" to work, we have to really understand why April is so unhappy, and that's something the film doesn't tell us. Kate Winselt tries awfully hard, but she can't make much of this rather unlikable character. She didn't have my sympathy because I never understood her problem. I understand suburban unhappiness in general, but I didn't understand it as presented here. DiCaprio has the easier time of it, because Frank it turns out isn't all that unhappy with his life, and pretends to be so largely for April's benefit. The film doesn't establish much about these two before they met or about the early days of their marriage. We're supposed to feel emotions about them in a vacuum without any context. I didn't feel anything.There's not much relief from DiCaprio and Winslet, as one or the other is in virtually every frame of the movie. There are a couple of recognizable actors in supporting roles, namely Kathy Bates as a real estate agent friend and Michael Shannon as her bonkers son. This character is wedged awkwardly into the narrative as the movie's id, shouting out truths everyone else is trying to avoid having to admit, but Shannon's performance is over the top and I didn't know what I was supposed to make of him.With wonderful films like "Far from Heaven," "The Hours," "All That Heaven Allows" and "Little Children" (which stars Winslet in a stunning turn, no less) and the cable series "Mad Men" exploring the same themes as "Revolutionary Road" but much more capably, there's really no reason to waste your time or money on this gloomy, depressing movie that has nothing to say. It's not an awful movie, but at the same time it has very little to recommend it.Grade: C
Problems with approach and aspects of writing are covered by strong performances to make a generally convincing and engaging drama
posted on 26 Aug 2009Revolutionary Road was another in the very crowded period ahead of the awards season, rolling into UK during a very busy January/February period for "worthy" films. Some of them were genuinely good and some of them were perhaps cosmetically worthy but weren't as good as they were been touted as. I caught this one of the awards bunch after Oscar and Bata were out of the way so I wasn't really concerned by these matters while watching it. Being set in a suburb of America in the 1950's, it is no surprise to anyone to learn that people are trapped and perhaps a little unhappy with their cosmetically "perfect" life – this is territory that has been covered before and covered well, to the point where it is hard to believe anyone in this setting/period was ever happy with their lot. Frank and April are a couple with young children, he is a salesman in a job he hates and she is a housewife. We are shown a little of their past and meeting but mostly we are put straight into the middle of a relationship that is being stifled and the two of them are short with one another at least. They plan a way out of the trap they feel stuck in but, while the details may not be obvious, you do sort of know the vague arch that the narrative is about to take.In itself this is not a problem because the scenario being familiar doesn't mean that everything about the film will be as well. In the sweep it is important to note that the film does work as being a quite realistic and depressing vision of long-term relationships. As such it engaged me and I did really enjoy the film and it seemed to move very quickly. This is different from saying it is brilliant and perfect though, because it isn't. The narrative arch doesn't allow much empathy for the characters and this appears to bleed into the scripted creation of them because I never felt like I was allowed to be inside the marriage at any point and that I was always watching things from the side. This problem is minimised though because both of the lead performances are very strong when they are given the chance. DiCaprio and Winslet play very well off one another and their convincing relationship made a lot of things work.It is almost a shame then that the narrative does tend to find bigger things for them to argue over other than minor comments or gestures, because in these moments the film and the actors are at their most convincing. When people feel trapped or want out of a relationship, not only do you have the big fights but you also have the pointless niggles and fights over nothing that are all fed by the bigger issue. The film did not create enough of these (the scenes after the play were the closest to this) and the bigger things do feel more melodramatic without these. It doesn't help that, to get the bigger thoughts of the characters across, the script uses Shannon's Givings to say things out loud. His performance is good but his character and his use within the film is weak and he never feels like a person so much as an easy device pulled in to help the writers.Visually the film looks good, It doesn't quite have the feel of the period in the way that Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven did but it still works. Costumes and sets deserved credit while Mendes and Deakins work well with the camera without channelling Douglas Sirk. Indeed Mendes does direct well but he doesn't seem to have much love for his characters, letting them go at one another with bitterness without really seeking to understand or feel for them. Maybe I'm putting too much at his feet in this regard but I did get the impression of him sitting back rather than being involved.Despite my problems with it, Revolutionary Road is still a good film, just not the brilliant one that much of the awards hype suggested. The ground has been covered before and there are problems with the approach and the script but it still engages and depresses as it should. DiCaprio and Winslet are both very good and, as a bitter cynic, I did enjoy seeing them acting out the logical progression of their "love" in Titanic. Not a perfect film by any means but a good solid entry in the suburban-misery genre (and it must soon qualify as a genre).
Hollywood did its usual twist on what was a good novel
posted on 26 Aug 2009The novel that this was based on was meant to be a learning lesson. It was intended to show how shallow and unfulfilled lives are when self is all we care about. Instead Hollywood did what Hollywood does best, attempted to make heroes out of selfish arrogant characters who care only for themselves. This movie was just plain awful. The only attracting feature this movie has is an on screen reunion of Kate & Leonardo. Which in could have been a good thing, but given the nature of this film they should have left off saying goodbye while floating on a door in the icy ocean after the Titanic sunk. Michael Shannon is a good actor who needs to find himself some good roles to really put his name on screen. He shouldn't be too upset about losing his academy award to Heath Ledge since this film was so bad to begin with.
Dull Movie with Wooden characters
posted on 24 Aug 2009I really wanted to like this film kate winslet is great in it but the movie just doesn't work as a film. Its characters are just not believable and the core of the movie is just so dull that nothing interesting happens. Just because actors make a good performance in a movie sure doesn't mean the movie is worth watching.There's no doubt Di Caprio is a very versatile actor and a good actor like Winslet but the film spends far too long ith the same story thread that it just becomes dull.The "mental" neighbour is a joke, its like a character they just added who could point out the mess and problems that Winslet and Di Caprios characters have. Its such a lazy, lame wooden character used to put some kinda "realism" into the movie that it just fails big time.
Its not just the way how real love works
posted on 24 Aug 2009The movie is watchable to understand how most of the western women behave! They have sex with anyone they like anytime they feel to have it and say that they love you so much forever. But the very next day they hate you..damn! It happens when you are centered by your own desires, expectations, visions and plans! Your are not loving someone if you can't sacrifice anything for them? This is what love is and not just sex AND NOT JUST SAYING I LOVE YOU. And you just don't sacrifice mindlessly, you do good to both selves. The main problem is that people are self centered egoistic and molested by the society they grew in. No reservations, no self preservation, no chastity, no meaning of one's self, just like animals, have sleazy acts with whoever you like? Its an animal civilization. Y don't people understand that once a couple's thoughts are centered onto one specific or group of things they work for it in harmony and will have no conflicts! Do u know what I'm saying? Be together, work for each other, keep your own lording-over nature aside and be servant to each other.. after all you are couple baby? And Now I'll talk about real love.. It doesn't exist in this world. No one can give love so much the other one ever really wants? He only thinks he gets it when he has sex but that is all! Nothing later!? Am I sensible? Sooner or later, he finds it boring , he looses the same amount of craving he had for her(lust) and finds an another alternative.. another beast to prey on! ha!(just put the animal way). This ain't no human life. We are supposed to be civilized even in sexual orientation... not just sophistication in science which is useless if people are like the Wheelers? And people are so much like Wheelers! I mean, at least, the way they have sex and the approach they have towards the concept of love for others. To put it simpler, the love a homo sapein wants cannot be satiated by the bullied ways of illicit relations on and on. I call it illicit its awkward, monkefying! No one can repose to the extend You want them to. You just expect and get disappointed, one day or the other. Please understand the truth mates. Kate and Leonardo too... Goodbye.
One of the best films of 2008.
posted on 23 Aug 2009A lot of people who see this film will probably think of that line from "Walden" by Thoreau: "The mass of people lead lives of quiet desperation." Although that line is fitting for his film, I think there was more to it than just that. To tell you the truth, I think the main character was April Wheeler. She reminded me of Nora in "A Doll's House" by Ibsen: she was fiercely independent and trapped within the confines of society during the '50s. I think one of the reasons she was attracted to her future husband, Frank, was because of his feelings of independence and not being afraid to live life to its fullest. But then things happen and people change. April gets pregnant and suddenly finds herself as a Susie-homemaker somewhere out in the suburbs of Connecticut. One moment she has dreams of becoming the next Katharine Hepburn on Broadway, and the next moment she is hosting a tea party for the ladies' auxiliary club in her living room. She is not happy with her life. Frank, on the other hand, is doing well in his life: he's got a wife and kids, a recent promotion that pays a bundle, and some "afternoon delight" on the side. He's not as anxious or unhappy with his life. So what do we have here? Someone who keeps dwelling on the past (April) and someone who is looking towards the future (Frank). It's no wonder the Wheelers are constantly at each other's throats. What I liked about this film was its acute observation of a marriage. How some people in a marriage learn to grow up, accept responsibility, and get on with their lives. And how other people are fiercely independent, were never meant to get married, and never learn to get on with their lives. I realize our society dictates that as humans, we should study hard, go to college, find a job, and get married and have kids. But who's to say that is meant for everybody? It may have been all right for Frank, but certainly not April. "Revolutionary Road" questions the whole structure of our society and that is what I found so brilliant about it. It was unafraid to explore these issues.
A MISERABLE DOWNER OF A FILM
posted on 23 Aug 2009This is probably one of those instances where the book was better than the movie. And maybe one of those instances where the book could/should not have been made into a movie. I suffered through the whole mess. There was not one character in the film that I felt sympathy toward. They all deserved to be miserable. Was this film produced by a cigarette company?
I've never seen so many cigarettes smoked. Even films made back in the 50's didn't have so many cigarettes lit up. My lungs were starting to hurt at one point - I was thinking " if he/she lights up another one, I'm going to start coughing". I could almost smell smoke in the room. Wow!
I never got the tone of the piece, either. At one point, in the middle of all the depressing misery, I thought maybe this was a some type of dark comedy.
What a waste of top notch talent. A forgettable film. Leaves a bad taste.
Yuk.
Feminist Propaganda.
posted on 22 Aug 2009This is one of the worst movies i ever watched. Starting off nice, it soon deconstructs the golden era of the 50ies in which a man was still a man and a woman knew her role until it becomes emancipation propaganda. Kate Winslet playing a badly educated witch in a world full of liars and with a husband without honor and strength. This was the exception back then, 99% of the people lived happily. Who wants to see movies that show life as it should not be, in which you do not feel strong, feel better, look up to. I watch movies to feel better after i watched them, to let them strengthen my values and in the end myself; or to just entertain me. This movie cannot satisfy any of these desires, actually it makes me feel sad, depressed. I can imagine some lesbian feminists or maybe suppressed women may enjoy this movie due to the parallels to their lifes, but that's about it. A waste of Winslets and DiCaprio's acting skills.
Most people aren't particularly good at anything
posted on 21 Aug 2009You spend your life learning to live with your own limitations and how they apply to practical life. Then you fall in love, you're mutually smitten by each other's ideals of yourselves... and suddenly, in the real world, you have to live with somebody else's unfamiliar, incomprehensible limitations as if they were your own.
At first glance, "Revolutionary Road" appears to be about the dark malaise beneath superficial success in 1950s suburbia; but I think it really chronicles something that happens in all times and places. We love the best in someone, but we live one whole person with another, and sometimes the compromise is more than we can bear.
A related element in the film is the realization that, as George Carlin once quipped, "Most people aren't particularly good at anything." Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April (Kate Winslet) both reluctantly see that this is true of themselves; but April struggles to hold on to the belief that it need not be true of Frank, and loses respect for Frank when he no longer believes it himself.
I can't call this a great movie, but it's certainly a good one. It effectively examines a fundamental problem of human life: that the inspiration for love comes from an ideal, but the art of love lies in making peace with the realities of two people who are inevitably less than they hope to be. Frank and April could not make that leap, and perhaps never even understood that it was there.
The heart will not go on
posted on 17 Aug 2009So the deal is that this is directed by Winslet's husband, Sam Mendes, famous for foisting American Beauty on us, and adapted from a novel set in 1955, but released in 1961, and supposedly so depressing it couldn't be adapted until NOW! So are you ready, party peoples?
We open with a short snippet at a NYC party where April, that's Kate, and Frank, that's Leo, meet and chat. Then we cut to April in a local production in which she is apparently awful. Afterward they have a horrible fight on the way home, and we see that when she's upset, April doesn't want to talk, and Frank NEEDS to talk. This is, however, not five minutes into the film. I sort of thought we would see their happy courtship before they moved to the suburbs and began to hate their lives, but no! Which can give you a momentary panic attack thinking "Oh GOD, it's going to be two hours of straight misery, not a slow slide into misery." And it kind of is and isn't.
So for the next few minutes we're jumping back and forth between their current lives and how they got here. We see a tiny bit more of the party, in which April tells Frank that he is the most interesting person she's ever met. We see them looking that the house in Connecticut that they end up buying. We see him taking the train to work in Manhattan, his suit beautifully photographed to look wonderful with the sea of guys in similar suits streaming into Grand Central. Meanwhile, April stays at home, raising the magical kids who appear and disappear at will. And over time they get more and more unhappy with their lives, feeling stilted and stifled.
April gets the idea to move to Paris. She says she'll work as a secretary and support the whole family, and Frank can be free to find himself, and discover what it is he wants to do. She says that "our whole existence here is based on the idea that we're superior," i.e. sure , they LIVE in this suburban existence, but they're not OF it. They thought of themselves as better than their surroundings and the people around them, but they find themselves falling into the same petty concerns as the people they think they're better than. Frank isn't convinced of the Paris idea for a bit, but soon warms to it and excitedly tells everyone. One can see how the thought of moving overseas reignites their sense of superiority, brings them together, and gives them something to look forward to. One can also see that their plan is a little unrealistic.
At a certain point Kathy Bates as their neighbor Helen brings by her schizophrenic son, who responds to Frank and April's wish to move away. "Many people see the emptiness," he says, "But it takes real guts to see the hopelessness." Once he leaves they say to each other "He's the first person who understands what we're talking about."
But eventually, no spoiler, their Paris dream is put on permanent hold, Frank is getting promoted and getting into his job a little bit, and the old rifts open up--and just get worse. The ending was said to be emotionally devastating but, well, not to me. And that's it.
Both DiCaprio and Winslet are great. They both convey a great deal of their emotion and character arc with their silent expressions and body language--they both just give very advanced and intelligent performances. The direction is smooth and seamless, barely noticeable, but effective and professional. Mendes effectively gets a lot of mileage out of their perfect house and the hidden menace of their furnishings. Cinematographer Roger Deakins gets rich, painterly colors out of the clothes and environments, and subtle tricks like having April's shirt being matched perfectly to the wall color, so it seems that she is literally being absorbed into the house, are effective.
The problem is that this novel came out in 1961, and I don't think very much updating was done to create this script. And in the meantime, a lot of very similar material has come out and made its impression--not least of which was American Beauty. Which is not to say that this stuff isn't true or effective, it's just that its view seems a little naïve--like one from the 60s, not one from 2008. We see almost nothing of the Wheeler's life before they got married, when they supposedly developed the sense of superiority that becomes such a stumbling block for them. I would have liked to have seen what their lives were like before, to have more of a sense of where they're coming from, and fill out their psyches a bit more. We see them drink and smoke a lot, but we never see them watch television. We never see April clean the house, although it remains immaculate. We never know what she thinks about keeping the house clean, being a forward-thinker as she is. We never find out why she decided to just stay home and do nothing, if she has such an active mind. We never find out why they moved to the suburbs in the first place--why didn't they just stay in the city? Especially if being culturally engaged is so important to them. Why don't they move BACK to the city? Easier than going to Paris. The net result of this is that for all the intimacy we have with these characters, there are several key areas in which we don't know or understand them.
And the movie can only throw in so many expository lines ["Oh, they're at a birthday party"] to cover up the fact that the two kids VANISH for long, long periods of time.
With the focus so closely on the Wheeler's, we're left to wonder why their relationship has so many problems, while others' are working. Is everyone else just stupid? Just not as engaged or once alive as April and Frank? Well, we'd have to see some sense of how engaged or alive they once were in order to know that, and that information isn't here. The movie ignores this question until the final moments, in which it throws out two short answers: the couple across the street are shown deciding not to talk about the things that bother them, and in the portentous and cynical final image, Bates' husband slowly turns the volume on his hearing aid down while his wife talks. Those are your options if you want a successful marriage, folks! Ignore your problems or literally tune each other out!
Oh, and the music is obnoxious. Every few seconds the same cue: slowly rising strings, then a few gentle piano chords. Repeat 1,200 times.
Regardless, the performances are good, and that kind of makes it worth seeing. I've never seen DiCaprio be better or more soulful. Winslet is of course brilliant [though more astounding in The Reader], and it certainly isn't a waste of time. It is, however, strikingly inessential. It's a pity they couldn't have updated and widened the scope of the novel a little more to make it less of a hermetic conversation piece from an earlier time.
Leo and Kate, Again
posted on 31 Aug 2009It's a long way from Titanic, when these two starred as lovers. Here, they're married in the American suburb, supposedly with the "American Dream" of nice home, good job, two children. I didn't see the family dog, however.
This movie was a disapointment. Adultery, mental illness, and suicide is not my idea of movie enjoyment. This may be the way some screenwriters perceive family life today, but it was not my way. I watched it all the way through because I wanted to see how it ended. But I didn't like the end!
My opinion? Don't waste your money.
G. Gupton - "The 31-Day Diet of Spiritual Enlightenment" and "Seekers of Truth"