Amazing!

Rating: 9/10 (7 January 2009)

"I'll never let go jack, Ill Never Let Go". Those were the last words that Kate Winslet said to Leonardo Di'Caprio just over 10 years ago in the film we all know as Titanic. A film which would be known to almost every human on earth. 10 years later the first words that would rekindle the on screen duo would be "So what do you do?" "Im Studying to be an actress" would be the reply.
Here is my REVOLUTIONARY ROAD review.
First off, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD is not a movie for everyone. The movie is extremely slow and all it does is focus around a married couple living in a suburban community in the 1950's. The movie is directed by Sam Mendes who also directed the Oscar Nominated film American Beauty. My first complaint being that i felt this movie was just a little to much like American Beauty only set in a different time period, but i loved that movie so this was just as good to me. I just wish Sam Mendes could come out of the box a little bit and try something a little broader.
Frank and April Wheeler are both around 30 with two kids who think that they can escape the traps of existence they have chosen. The movie begins with them meeting at a party and then goes straight to the marriage Frank works at a job he hates but continues there because the money is decent. April is an "actress" who believes she is destined for better things. One day April comes up with the idea just to drop everything, move to Paris and live the rest of their lives their. She can work as a Government secretary and Frank can "find himself". April later finds out she is 10 weeks pregnant. Could this stop them from going to Paris? Will they ultimately just be stuck on REVOLUTIONARY ROAD for the rest of their lives while Frank works at his crap poor job? What keeps them together? Is It Love or something else? The story of the characters was absolutely amazing. Some scenes I could not turn away from. I just sat there an gazed in trance at what was going on. The last 30 minutes of the movie really stand out. It was the last 30 minutes that I could not stop thinking about for a day. And the last scene in the movie. It has the Givings (neighbors) talking about Revolutionary Road and the new family that lives on the road. It is a scene that ends the movie perfectly, because it shows what could have been had things gone another way. I can not reveal what i mean by this exactly to those who have not seen the movie. But for those who have, they will know what i am talking about. It basically shows how the wheelers would have been had things gone a different way.
The viewer should know in the first 15 minutes if it is going to be a movie that they should walk out of or stay and see what it has to offer.
The movie is called Revolutionary Road because that is the road that they live on. My thoughts to the reason given for the title is because the movie is not just about Frank and April but about their neighbors and friends. The movie is Extremely realistic to most romances. Being married is not all about the high life. People cheat on each other. People like to try to act like the perfect family around others and then go home and be the exact opposite. That is life. This is what makes the movie brilliant. After viewing the movie i honestly did not know how i felt about it I knew the performances were amazing. All of them I would say Leo delivers the performance of his lifetime, and so does Kate. I really hope that it finally knocks her the Oscar she deserves.
To be honest though, to me the most noted performance of the whole movie is actually by Michael Shannon. Michael having done most villainous roles or quick cameos really puts it all into his character. Michael plays John Givings who is a mathematician and has been hospitalized for insanity due to his genius thoughts and the fact that he says what everyone else wants to. It is his character to me that really opens up the movie and at times will make you laugh and get away from the dark moments surrounding the character. This goes back to the part where I talked about the title coming from the characters. John is the son of a couple that lives on Revolutionary Road and they try to act like they are perfect. They go over Frank and Aprils quite often and never mention their son until he gets out where they must confess that he is not right in the head and then actually have them meet with Frank and April. Later John has a scene with at the dinner table that i think should be remembered for a long time.
The movie is very dark. The moments are dark. It goes deep into relationships and it goes deep into suburban life. This may be why it reminds me so much of American Beauty. The movie was so deep that as said before i did not know how i felt about the movie. I literally was thinking about the events and actions in the movie for the whole next day. I rate this as one of the best movies of 2008. It was so deep and dark.
I give this movie a 9 out of 10. But like i said it is not for everyone. Only for those who are really into the development of characters or deep stories. I guess if you like American Beauty then there is a 80% chance you will like this as well.