Another Trip on the Titanic!

Rating: 8/10 (25 January 2010)

I read this novel in college. It was absolutely biting then and I have kept it with me for over 30 years. The movie is so painful to watch. I remember the fifties and their sterility and the roles people were expected to play. A few years had past since the end of the war and people were happy just to be bored. April (Kate Winslet) is ahead of her time. We know this because the talk she talks is stunning to the neighbors. He plans to embrace bohemianism make most around her think she is crazy. DeCaprio tries hard but thinks she is also nuts. There is so much angst in each scene. Some of the people who have found fault with this film are judging these people with criteria based on contemporary life. It was so much duller then and so were the people. They chose to be dull. This sets up a powder keg. The "Wheelers," rolling forward, have the respect and admiration of all those around them. He is handsome; she is stunning. They have two beautiful kids. His job is tiresome, but he apparently makes a little money, enough so he wouldn't have to work for six months if they went to Paris. The best scenes are when the realtor who sold them the house on Revolutionary Road (certainly an ironic title because nothing revolutionary happens) brings her bipolar (perhaps) son to visit. He is the real spokesman for the movie. The crazy guy who really knows what is going on. Anyway, this film cuts to the heart, showing people who have failed to but heads with the realities of their time. The acting is quite good though it is really hard to like either of the characters much. Silence is another main character. It's like a grim reaper when it appears.