choose the right life

Rating: 10/10 (21 March 2017)

Sam Mendes had previously focused on the falsity of the suburban lifestyle with his Oscar-winning directorial debut "American Beauty". He returned to the topic with "Revolutionary Road". Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet play a 1950s couple who abandoned their dream jobs in favor of a suburban lifestyle. Neither the husband nor the wife feels fulfilled. When they consider a change of pace, it exposes not only the flaws in their lifestyle but also in their relationship. And I mean with dire consequences.
Suburban Gothic is a common theme in cinema. I have no doubt that what the movie depicts happened more often than we might think. Indeed, there are still instances of people giving up on their dreams to do what they think that society expects of them.
Both DiCaprio and Winslet put on fine performances, as I expected. Far removed from their "Titanic" roles, their characters start out close but feel more and more distant from each other as the movie progresses. To be certain, there are some unpleasant scenes in the movie (but they do add to the plot). Also appearing is Leo and Kate's "Titanic" co-star Kathy Bates as a hypocritical realtor. Like "Death of a Salesman" and "Save the Tiger", the movie offers an acerbic look at the supposed idealism of the American dream. I recommend it, but remember that it's not an uplifting movie.