Nothing "Revolutionary" about this road.

Rating: 6/10 (17 January 2009)

I couldn't help but feel disappointed when I walked out of the theater following "Revolutionary Road." My expectations were lofty because I loved what Sam Mendes did with "American Beauty" (10/10) and I was intrigued by "Jarhead" (7/10) as well. Of course the preliminary bar was set high for a film featuring both Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
And yet, I was underwhelmed by the final product that was "Revolutionary Road." No, this wasn't a clichéd case of setting the bar TOO high, because I always keep my pregame expectations in check. They're there, but I don't allow them to cloud my judgment.
Mendes was fine; his mise en scene was a bit mundane and predictable, yet still mostly effective. I would like to have searched for more subtlety when dealing with a director of Mendes' caliber, but it just wasn't there this time. Only shot that jumps out at me is the one of the sprinkler spout metaphorically separating April Wheeler from her family.
As for the performances, I felt that Winslet slightly outperformed Leo. Not that that's especially relevant, because neither performance was award-worthy. I'm shocked that Winslet could take home two Golden Globes in one year, when one of those Globes was awarded for her work in this film. She was good, but not outstanding.
I must tread carefully, though, because I shouldn't blame Winslet or DiCaprio for the shortcomings of the script. On the whole, the dialogue was absolutely painful -- nothing original came for seemingly endless sets of time. I'm aware that the screenplay was adapted from a novel, so perhaps the faults lie in the novel itself. Yet, that's not what I'm hearing from those who read and loved the book.
I was intrigued by the general concept of the film, because we all struggle with the internal conflict of our dreams vs. reality, and many of us struggle with the comfortable suburbia vs. monotonous suburbia conflict as well. But "Revolutionary Road" was overkill in both arenas. Just too much of the same throughout: calm before the storm, match, lit match, explosion. Calm before the storm, match, lit match, explosion.
Much of the repetition may have been intentional, but it simply wasn't effective. How Roger Ebert gave "Revolutionary Road" four stars out of four, absolutely boggles my mind.
This film is a 6/10, at best. If you love great cinema, you will be disappointed. "Revolutionary Road" is a level below.