Dark and unsettling but fascinating

Rating: 9/10 (10 January 2010)

This takes place in the mid-1950s in Connecticut. There's a young couple named Frank and April Wheeler (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet). They have a big beautiful house in the suburbs and two kids...but they're miserable. Frank hates his job and April's dreams of becoming an actress are shattered. Things slowly get darker and more serious and leads to a disturbing ending.
This is NOT a feel-good film. It's dark and unpleasant but it is an incredible look at the dark side of the picture perfect American suburb of the 1950s. The cars, clothes, furnishings and music are right on target. The acting by the leads is incredible. DiCaprio explodes in his role. He's miserable and slowly gets angrier. He's downright terrifying! Winslet had the much more difficult role of his wife but she's brilliant. You see her crumbling inside and trying to hold herself together. Just incredible. Everybody is good but a little extra credit goes to Michael Shannon playing the dangerously crazy John. There is some humor though. I got a big kick out of one woman who smokes constantly in the movie even when she's pregnant!
There are a few missteps. This does have its slow parts and the kids the couple have seem to disappear completely for long periods of time. You would think they would play a part in their parents lives but that never seems the case. Still this is a fascinating if depressing look at suburban life in the 1950s. Obviously not for everybody. I give it a 9.