A Road Ending In The Crash of The American Dream

Rating: 9/10 (4 January 2009)

If there is one thing that Sam Mendes seems to put across in his movies is that the American Suburbs are the last place you want to be. In American Beauty he introduced us to cast of characters who were anything but upfront about themselves and their inner desires. In Revolutionary Road it's a no holds barred grudge match with Sam Mendes in one corner and the image of 1950's American lifestyle.
From the absolute beginning the movie doesn't wait to dive into the issues of marriage and discontent. The movie doesn't build like American Beauty but hovers around in the same tense area throughout the film. These people are unhappy and no one is sugar coating it.
I would have given the film ten stars but it felt a bit manipulative at times. Constantly we are given images of misery and elusion to deep depression being experienced by the neighbors. Also the dismal existence of the 9-5 commuters and company men lined up in their dreary cubicles. We also get a glimpse into the mind of the non-conformist 50's mental patient. A tool used to show how in that period in American History people were conformed or suffer dire consequences. The dialogue is poetic but a bit too introspective for a young couple who are non-English majors. At times it feels like a propaganda film against the suburbs that Sam Mendes seems to have a distaste for. In the film there is no middle ground. It becomes either salvation or imprisonment forever in the torture which is the middle class existence.
Sam is a master of his craft and this film shouldn't be looked over. Although by the end of the film you feel the director has struck a heavy tone; You rise or fall and hope to god that you don't fall.