Like an autopsy of a relationship's corpse

Rating: 9/10 (9 January 2009)

Superb drama. Solid performances from Kate Winslett, Leonardo De Caprio, and the amazing Michael Shannon (one of filmdom's brightest hopes). Finally we have an American movie that dares to be honest about our lives (hopes, realities, and disappointments). "Revolutionary Road" (named after the street on which the characters live) is about the consequences of the choices we make. It's like an autopsy of a relationship's corpse -- only the corpse may still be breathing. Winslett and De Caprio are a couple who have succumbed to the so-called Amereican Dream of a house in the suburbs, kids, a job in the city, the usual bull. Winslett, smelling the rot beneath the floorboards, suggests they pack up and move to Paris. At first, De Caprio is all for a change. Then, ever so gradually, he's pulled back into the maelstrom of conformity and material promise. Directed by Sam Mendes and written by Justin Haythe, this raw collision of emotion remains consistent and true to its thesis. It offers no easy answers and isn't afraid to suggest that looking for answers is, in itself, problematic. Michael Shannon (so great in "Before The Devil Knows You're Dead") plays a mentally unpredictable man who sees the truth in what's going on between Winslett and De Caprio. The scenes where he single-handedly exposes the domestic fairytale for the crock it is are riveting and darkly funny. The end result is breathlessness. Mendes, who directed "American Beauty", has a talent for getting under the fascia of modern relationships. Here, he gets in there and manipulates the tissue until it bleeds. I loved every awkward moment.