A remarkable film- not for the faint-hearted

Rating: 8/10 (27 May 2009)

I read many comments I agreed with here. This film is shocking. On one hand it is very well played and directed, on the other hand...I wouldn't recommend it to my friends because it is too disturbing. Perhaps this is what movie are supposed to have, catharsis, but...on the other hand...reality bites too hard here. April and Frank live in an idyllic American suburb, in house set among trees, they have two kids. All is nice, neighbors adore them, even (Kathy Bates) the Realtor who showed them the house loved them...These are the appearances. Frank (Di Caprio) hates his job, but accepts it as a given and when April (Winslet) suggests that he should quit he is willing to take her advice.. go to Europe into the unknown. He was really going to do it, quit and go, until...opportunity intervened...for a job with more responsibility and more money...and perhaps less boredom. This was an ego trip for Frank. And yet --in a situation that is upside down from what anyone would expect-- April is unhappy, and this unhappiness is so entrenched that it will finally lead to disaster and turn a career turn into a family disaster. Sam Mendes has done it again. After brilliantly depicting the hell of family life in an idyllic suburb in 'American Beauty,' he managed to reinvent himself in Revolutionary Road. He was helped by his extraordinary cast and by a good script, but still... Winslet is very good in depicting April's step-by-step descent into madness, and she definitely deserved the Golden Globe, and perhaps even the Oscar (but wasn't nominated for this movie). Actually it is hard to judge who is the better actor between her and DiCaprio, but I guess hers is a more difficult role because of her frequent mood changes. A great film, NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED.