Well acted and made, but it's really just a turgid melodrama

Rating: 7/10 (11 January 2009)

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet star in this film about an unhappily married couple. When they met, they were idealistic youths, but when they arrive in the suburbs, he working in sales and she a housewife, life seems dreary. The film offers no new insights on marriage or life. It is set in the 1950s, so you might think it's like, say, Far from Heaven in that it attempts to exploit the inadequacies of an era so beloved by a certain group of our society. But, no, Revolutionary Road doesn't make much of its '50s setting. I think it wants to be more universally about marriage. It's set in the '50s, I think, so there's a better reason these two people who just plain dislike each other have to stay together. So, taking place in the 1950s actually dates the problems that these couple are having for the most part. The story just doesn't feel relevant to a modern audience. Or me, at least. The film isn't that bad in the end. The acting is quite good, especially from Kate Winslet. Though I am a big fan of Michael Shannon, I found his two scenes in the movie very poorly written, mostly concerning his character, who comes off as a mere plot tool rather than a real person. The film is very gorgeous to look at, thanks to Roger Deakins, and I liked Thomas Newton's score (he provided an even better one for Wall-E earlier in 2008).