Life happens

Rating: 7/10 (8 November 2009)

This is Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet first reuniting for a film after "Titanic" and they both give a fine performances in "Revolutionary Road." The story tells the lives of a young couple living in suburban Connecticut who decide to risk everything to pursue their dreams. Frank Wheeler(Leonardo DiCaprio) is comfy with his lifestyle although he hates his job, April Wheeler(Kate Winslet) is the wife that wants to escape from Revolutionary Road and has fantasies of starting somewhere else, maybe Paris. So they want to break away from the ordinary-but can they do it without breaking apart? This film is a bit over dramatized and a bit over acted while showing the life of a family living in a suburban home in 1955. Some may not like the portrayal of the suburban life in this film, cause it makes it seem like suburban hell. And many people would rather live in a suburban area over ghettos, trailer parks or no home at all where some working class neighborhood where the cops make routine visits in order to quell common disruptions cause of the danger. And how some people would rather live in suburban areas not because of superficial things but because the neighborhood they are living in might be dangerous with gang members, drug addicts and other hopeless people. Which doesn't seem to be the case for the Wheeler family. But the film did do a good job of portraying suburban life as a false, materialistic, repetitive life. So it's forgivable in my opinion, the work to live and live to work life style that's become so normal in modern society. And did a great job portraying 2 lovers who are trying to break free while knowing they are not special in anyway. Now I sort of get why this film didn't do that great in the box office. People usually go to the movies in order leave reality for a few hrs, and the film does bring back a lot of the harshness of reality. No one in this movie is portrayed better than the other, Frank and April are equally selfish and is desperate to have a taste of the fantasy life but you can't help but feel sorry for them. It really did a great job portraying the downfall of a suburban family and it shows how it's a mistake to have kids because having kids ruin the chances for a couple to be happy, which I sort of agree with while others might be happy with having children, maybe. April Wheeler look at her third unborn child as a parasite, in fact she seems to dislike her children while trying to convince herself that she still loves them, maybe a part of her does. But she smokes while pregnant and even goes as far to give herself abortion with her own hands. It really showed the realities of human nature, like even if they smile at you and act all friendly they should not be trusted cause they will gossip when you have your back turned or dead. It even portrays the Wheeler's marriage ending up being nothing but lies and distrust, which applies to a lot of other marriages as well. So yes it is a realistic movie that shows the downfall of a family living in a suburban neighborhood in 1955, but it just wasn't that interesting and sort of dry, which might have been the point. The main highlight was John Givings(Michael Shannon) who has a illness, give or take. Which makes him speak his mind constantly while spouting just about anything that he feels to be true, and the outcome can be extremely rude, but satisfying to watch. Since it shatters Frank and April's fantasies and snaps them back to reality which they tried so hard to deny. Not that I have sympathy for people that have mental illnesses and commit crimes and get away with just a tap on the wrist or anything. But he was most definitely the highlight of this film. All in all, it was like watching a play, a depressing and yet pretty good play. I can't help but feel a bit of irony out of the ending to "Revolutionary Road" since in "Titanic" one of the two lovers die first. In this one the death roles seems to have been switched, even if this one is based on a novel. The theme of this film is "Everyone wants out. Everyone wants in. Everyone﻿ wants to want...To want nothing is to have everything."
7.4/10