well made BUT not very believable

Rating: 6/10 (3 June 2009)

Revolutionary Road was directed by Sam Mendes from a screenplay by Justin Haythe,& from the novel by Richard Yates. Time period is 1950's. Its about suburban life & the unhappy marriage of 2 attractive people with 2 attractive children.
Leonrdo Dicaprio & Kate Winslet portray this unhappy couple.
A BIT OF personal history here. In the 1950's I was just a few years younger than this couple & also lived in a middle size city.
I cannot remember any persons in my age group back then acting like this couple did. Granted some did not have happy lives BUT none were this miserable. I remember that era as being a glorious time to live & raise a family..
Yes we smoked & drank a lot BUT not to the extent this couple did.
In the film Micheal Shannon plays a neighbours adult son, just released from a mental hospital. To me he was the sanest person in the cast,He just was ahead of his time speaking out on subjects.
The acting by Kate & Leo is good. They just were not a likable couple especially Kate Winslet's April. She was a selfish, controlling b****, What she does at conclusion, made me lose whatever remaining respect I may have had for. Leonardo Dicaprio's, Frank, also was not someone I would have wanted as a friend, I would even have trouble consoling him at the end of the film.
Now for what I did like in the film. they did recreate the period as far as settings, costumes etc. Aside from Micheal Shannon's performance, I must comment Zoe Kazan (Elia Kazan's granddaughter) he is the young secretary that Frank has an affair with. There were so many cigarettes consumed,I hope no one gets sick from watching the movie.
Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4) 73 points (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10)