The Real "Leave it to Beaver"

Rating: 8/10 (27 April 2010)

As human beings, we crave stability. The thought of sameness and certainty brings us a certain degree of comfort. But being comfortable and ordinary means sacrificing our chance to be truly extraordinary. To what degree do we give up our dreams for a sense of comfort and normalcy? Is an ordinary life worth giving up the chance to be someone special?
Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April Wheeler (Kate Winslet) are a happily married couple. Frank is a dreamer, and wants to go back to Paris because people are "alive" there, but after April became pregnant, they moved to the suburbs to live a normal life. But April is not happy as an ordinary housewife, and Frank is just as miserable having ended up in a job that he swore to avoid. So they decide to move to Paris so that they can live the life that they were "meant" to. But are they willing to take that chance?
In 1997, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet created one of the greatest screen romances of our time in "Titanic." Eleven years later, the real life best friends have returned on screen together in an entirely different kind of film. It is a credit to their skill and versatility that Frank and April Wheeler are NOTHING like Jack Dawson and Rose Dewitt-Bukater. DiCaprio and Winslet are wonderful in their roles. Both are trapped in a situation that they hate, but can't escape.
The other actors vary, however. Kathy Bates is miscast as Helen Givings, the only person who really seems to have fully bought into this sitcom-ish life. Bates is a good actress, but she's not right for the part. A cynic might say that this was to draw on the popularity of the "Titanic" connection, but I doubt it. "Revolutionary Road" will not appeal to that crowd, and the two leads are a strong enough appeal anyway (but with Hollywood, you never know...). Michael Shannon is excellent as John, Helen's son who was in the mental hospital for his opinion that this life that everyone seems to be living is a delusion. Shannon has made a career of off-the-wall performances, but this is one of his best. Unfortunately, the character sometimes comes off as a writer's construct than a real individual, and Shannon is unable to solve this problem. Of special note is David Harbour, who plays the Wheelers' next door neighbor and friend, Shep. It's a passionate and heartfelt performance, and it should grant Harbour some notice.
Sam Mendes already peered behind the white picket fence in "American Beauty," which I have not seen. But there has been no greater criticism of the delusion portrayed by the classic 1950's sitcoms like "Leave it to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best" than "Revolutionary Road." But the true strength of the film is that it applies to every era of American life; our dreams our precious, and we cannot reach them without taking a chance.