Disturbingly immersive tale of the last rites of a subarban marriage

Rating: 8/10 (7 February 2020)

You got to hand it to the two leads of this film. They may be better known for the love story Titantic, but this is a counter-history version, like as if what would have happened if they had survived the wreck but their relationship went sour.
Firstly, there is little to fault in this film. The acting is superb, and Kate Winslet is for me one of the finest actresses anywhere. There is little to fault her with this performance, I think it's even better than when she won the Oscar for The Reader (another dark film I very much enjoyed). Leo DiCaprio is also sublime here, and the pair on-screen are at the top of their game.
What we have is a couple who on paper are living an idyllic life. Based in the 1950's, the picture perfect couple live in a white picket fence dreamy suburban area whilst the husband works in a steady job where he is going places, and the kids are fine etc. Yet underneath it all the couple are deeply unsatisfied. The name of the film is really an ironic statement (joke?), and is the name of the road they live on.
A far-fetched & extravagant proposal by the wife to her husband to dump their current set-up for a fantasy life in Paris sets up the destructive trail as the couple's relationship disintegrates. Neither side is perfect or wholesome, and it's uncomfortable but disturbingly immersive watch to see how things pan out.
It's quite a cynical outlook on the reality of middle America, but the same story can be played out almost anywhere.
You have to hand it to the director who has taken the whole "American Beauty" idea (again) and transposed it all with another tale that peaks between the curtains of surburbia. The direction is great, the settings are all perfectly captured and the actors all fit the bill.
The only issue is the discomforting nature of it, which explains for its lack of success at the box office. It does drag at times, but it's not an action film. There is little if any humour and that makes it often even more difficult to get through. It's worth the effort though to give it the time it deserves.
It's a good stage play on screen, and from early on you know it will all end in some tragic way. What way? Well, I'd recommend that you watch it. Not one to watch on Valentine's Day with a partner but one to watch out for nevertheless.