Revolutionary Road (2008)

4.0

DRAMA
U.S. Release Date: 12/25/08 (Limited)
Running Length: 119 Minutes
MPAA Classification: R (Profanity, Sexual Situations, Nudity)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, Kathryn Hahn, David Harbour, Zoe Kazan
Director: Sam Mendes
Screenplay: Justin Haythe, based on the novel by Richard Yates
Cinematography: Roger Deakins
Music: Thomas Newman
U.S. Distributor: Paramount Vantage

Review by: Carter Moulton

01/25/09

After seeing Revolutionary Road, I’m beginning to think that the Academy Awards are rigged—nothing more than political campaigns. Maybe most of the Academy didn’t see the film because it took too long to expand into a wide release, but someone is to blame here. Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance hasn’t been widely acclaimed. Kate Winslet’s performance got snubbed (she did, however, get nominated for her role in The Reader), and Roger Deakins’ cinematography, some of the richest of the year, didn’t get a second look. Don’t be fooled: Revolutionary Road is a devastatingly effective film that constantly alters your opinions of its characters.

It’s the 1950’s and DiCaprio (who works wonderfully with Winslet, remember Titanic?) plays Frank Wheeler, a businessman whose ambition has slipped away over the years. He commutes to New York City everyday to a job that he hates. His wife, April Wheeler (Winslet), is a homemaker who desperately wants to break free from their conventional way of life. They live on Revolutionary Road, planted deep within Connecticut’s middle-class suburbs. They’ve both settled into something that they don’t want.

Photo © Paramount Vantage

We don’t get many details about their history, save a few flashbacks. Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) hides the probably happy past and focuses on the “hopeless emptiness” that Wheelers feel now. April talks to Frank about moving to Paris—a city that April has always wanted to visit, and a city that Frank once visited while serving in the war—as a way to revive their romance. They decide to go for it. Unfortunately, some other variables pop into play (I won’t name them here) and the plan is jeopardized. Either way, April wants out. She wants change.

And that’s what makes Revolutionary Road such a success: change. The film is so well scripted (Justin Haythe, based on the novel by Richard Yates), so well performed that one minute we’re appalled by a characters actions, only to sympathize with them a moment later. It’s these emotional shifts that give the film a realistic identity. It attacks us, questioning our passions and motives.

I’m a fan of period pieces because they—when done correctly—feature attractive lighting and set design. This film, powered by Roger Deakins (No Country For Old Men, Doubt), is visually gorgeous. In particular, the scene where Frank returns from work late on his birthday to find April and the kids standing over an illuminated birthday cake is one of the most lush, radiant, and ultimately powerful scenes of the year. Deakins is cementing himself in cinematic history with his consistently brilliant work. If you like the way this film looks, check out The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

As strong as the technical aspects are here, it’s three actors who make the film glisten. Michael Shannon’s (Oscar nominated) supporting performance as John Givings, the Wheeler’s real-estate agent’s son, is delivered with an eerie intensity that keeps us fixated on every movement he makes. Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance, while in a different context, is right up there with his role in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. He fully portrays Frank’s frustration and grief without coming off as theatrical. Frank keeps trying to make things better, and his inability to do so is perfectly expressed by DiCaprio’s delivery of anguish and self-pity. Kate Winslet is always superb. With this film, she projects a desperate melancholy that’s deeper than anything she’s done before. The performances really are wonderful.

For anyone who’s ever settled down and raised a family, the film is a bold moment of self-reflection. It questions the origin of the words “successful," and “happiness”—see Revolutionary Road to rethink your definition. If nothing more, go see it because of the great performances or the stunning images. Just make sure you see it. There’s too much thought-provoking, awe-inspiring substance to ignore here. Watching Revolutionary Road isn't a cakewalk; it cuts deep down, but its ability to damage us demonstrates just how fine of a film it is.