Revolutionary Road is an expansive blue ocean. It appears beautiful from afar, but roiling underneath it is sorrow and anger erupting in ferocious waves. It touches all of us, pooling at the feet of some, submerging others. I am in the latter camp; I am a victim to this devastating film. I get jitters remembering everything that happened. My pulse quickens and my knees weaken. And I can't get that nightmare out of my head.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet play Frank and April Wheeler, a young couple that recently moved into a suburban house on Revolutionary Road in the 1950's. Their happiness is a facade for the hopeless emptiness they're experiencing. Frank works at a job he can't stand and comes home to a wife who can't stand being home. They hate each other. They remain together for the sake of their children, but realize it's worse for everyone to stay in that situation. Separation is not an option. What can they do to escape their self-imposed, once-desirable imprisonment?
The acting is impeccable, heart-felt, and full. It makes the pitch-perfect writing all the more unbearable. The music infiltrates your subconscious. The cinematography stays on the sideline, subtly affecting your perceptions and focus. The editing is tight; it plays with time fluidly but intuitively. And for all the movie's effectiveness, for all of Sam Mendes's brilliance, it hurts. This is not an enjoyable film. This is not entertainment. This is a condemnation of all we hold dear in America. This is a searing indictment of our success, our greed, and even our appearance. By the end, we simply want to stop listening, to ignore it and hope it disappears. What a sorry, tired answer that is. But it is our only chance.IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0959337/