"You were just some boy that made me laugh at a party once."

Rating: 8/10 (19 January 2009)

Revolutionary Road (RR) opens as a dreary 'American Dream' landscape that we are not only a part of, but forced to share. RR is intent on making us feel....that is, to which we are undoubtedly numb. Director Sam Mendes (of American Beauty fame) does not make the case that happiness is an illusion but the implication is obvious. The story takes a welcome turn when an antagonist, a former psychiatric patient played by Michael Shannon, ironically reminds the Wheelers (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) that it's not enough to satiate life like an empty stomach; It has to be throttled and shuck like a tree until its fruits are given.
DiCaprio's character is afraid to risk the unknown while Winslet's sees no alternatives in 1950's social Connecticut. DiCaprio is compelling and Winslet is magnificent. RR is like listening to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska album, you love it but you don't want to go back there too often.