Devastating movie with amazing performances

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2017)

Sam Mendes returns with another picture following the lives of suburban families in America. In this one, the story is set in the 50's and takes place in Connecticut. No Kevin Spacey this time to steal the show, but Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet make up for that. They respectively portray Frank and April Wheeler who form a couple after meeting in a bar and move to suburbs after April gets knocked up. The movie opens with this bar scene, where they both meet and April tells Frank that she wants to pursue a career as an actress. Next, we cut to a play April is in and from the look on Frank's face it wasn't a good one. The two of them get into a fight on their way home and it becomes clear that they aren't the same people that met in a bar.
The main themes of the movie, as it is mentioned in the movie, are emptiness and hopelessness. More precisely, the fight against it. We first saw Frank with some kind of confidence and excitement about the future on his face, but now he's not the man that would be noticed in a bar. As he goes to work he blends in with all the other men going to work, wearing their hats and gray jackets, just like him. He has lost his distinctiveness. April wanted to act but now has to settle for a life as a housewife. They are both unhappy, lost in the emptiness and hopelessness. The American dream grants everyone the right to the pursuit of happiness, but happiness is what the Wheelers struggle with, which leads to tensions and bad decisions within their household.
This particular struggle is depicted perfectly by Sam Mendes. You can feel and see the emptiness in their lives, also thanks to some brilliant performances. DiCaprio is perfect and gives one of his best performances, which says a lot. The way he expresses his frustrations was amazing, the way he desperately tries to hold back his anger reminded me of a cover trying to stay on the cooking pot while the damp of the coiling water pushes it away. Kate Winslet is as brilliant as DiCaprio is, she gives a devastating, but brilliant performance. She won that year an Oscar for her performance in 'The Reader', but she deserved it for this one as well. DiCaprio wasn't even nominated. Why, I do not know.
The movie is devastating, because it is so relatable. There are so many people living in their seemingly perfect lives, but desperately hoping for something more. Every year they grow older as their regrets start to accumulate. The Wheelers want to escape from this rut and decide to move to Paris, but deep down they know they're stuck, and will never become what they wanted to become back when they were young, back in that bar. Besides this devastating look on the suburban life, there are a few lighter moments. Sam Mendes luckily lightens the mood from time to time by pointing out the silliness of this suburban life in a subtle comedic way. Only, we could have used more of this.
Another strength of this movie, that simply has to be mentioned, is Michael Shannon. He plays this character, who's unfortunately only in the movie for a couple of scenes, that suffers from mental issues. If telling the truth is a mental illness, then this guy is a complete lunatic. With his character, the movie cleverly makes fun of the suburban families for being afraid of the truth to an extent that they send people who actually tell the truth for once to a mental institution. All right, there was something off with this character, perfectly portrayed by Michael Shannon by the way. It is however a shame that his character wasn't more present in the movie. The movie could have benefited from his refreshing presence.
The themes in this movie are intriguing and relatable, the screenplay did an excellent job in making us understand the inner desires and motivations of the characters. The cinematography was terrific as well, and so was the entire ensemble cast. Yet, somehow this depressing tone of the movie became a drag at times. Some lighter moments could have made this movie easier to watch. '12 Years a Slave' had also this continuous depressing tone, without any lighter moments, but still managed to be absolutely perfect. 'Revolutionary Road fails at this, because even though the overall message is devastating and conveyed perfectly, the story is unfortunately not interesting enough to make your care for 2 hours.