Revolutionary Road - Movie Review

Suburbia has come to represent so many things to Americans over the past seventy years. At one time, it was a place to where people could escape from the dirty, overcrowded, expensive cities, in order to find a better life. If you found a good job in the city and worked hard enough, one day a home with a small plot of land, surrounded by a fence, would be the prize for you and your family. Once this dream of urban flight was realized, your life was essentially complete. Or was it? “Revolutionary Road,” a film by Sam Mendes, explores and attempts to debunk the suburban myth, as it existed in the 1950’s.

April (Kate Winslet) and Frank Wheeler (Leonardo DiCaprio) are a young couple living in the Connecticut suburbs of New York City. Frank takes the train to the city everyday to work as a salesman. April is a homemaker who takes care of their two children. To the neighbors, the Wheelers represent marital bliss. However, from the beginning of the film, it is apparent that the facade of their happiness is quickly crumbling.

For Frank, his job is mindless drudgery but a necessary component for maintaining his lifestyle. He constantly reminds himself that he is better than his suburban counterparts, because he and April are cognizant of the mediocrity of suburbia. They just choose to participate in it for the time being.

To April, the suburban dream is stifling. She was an aspiring actress who saw a better life for herself through marrying Frank. When they first met, Frank was different from other men. He had dreams and interests that intrigued April. Unfortunately for April, Frank went the way of his father and became a salesman at the same company. Instead of exploring the world with Frank as she planned, April is relegated to acting in community theatre at the local elementary school. She has realized that Frank will never seek a different life than his father’s.

However, April devises a plan that would allow the Wheelers to flee from their suburban prison. Frank quits his job so that the family could move to Paris where April would work as a well-paid secretary until Frank realized what is his true calling. It is a new dream for the couple that acts as a temporary salve for their ailing marriage. The question is whether the Wheelers will be able to avoid self-destruction before making their journey to a new land.

Once again, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet turn in outstanding performances. As much as they aptly displayed an irresistible attraction for one another in “Titanic,” they adeptly portrayed a couple repulsed by each other in “Revolutionary Road.” Despite the fact that Mr. DiCaprio still maintains a boyish visage, through Frank Wheeler, he exudes the experience and anger of a man crushed by conformity. Like many people, Frank had aspirations to become someone better than his father, but he lacked the courage to toss aside the security of a respectable job and nice home to take a chance at obtaining a more satisfying life.

“Revolutionary Road” is a deconstruction of the 1950’s suburban dream. Each character in the film lives a superficial, discontented life. Yet, it is clear that no one expects to be happy, much less contented. When Frank and April reveal their escape plans to their friends and co-workers, they are perceived as childish dreamers. Few understand why the Wheelers would want to leave the so-called good life. Moreover, the others that do understand their dissatisfaction are angry that the Wheelers have the audacity to reveal that suburbia is not utopia. In fact, the only one to laud the Wheelers is their friend’s mentally ill son who constantly commits the sin of pointing out the hypocrisy of those around him. In other words, anyone who speaks the truth will also be condemned as a mad man.

For anyone who has seen the masterpiece, “American Beauty,” it will be immediately evident that “Revolutionary Road” has a very similar subject matter. Despite the similarity in theme, Mr. Mendes ultimately takes “Revolutionary Road” in a different and less hopeful direction than “American Beauty.” As in real life, Mr. Mendes shows us that not all stories end happily. Even though Mr. Mendes did not want his audience to leave the theatre smiling, I still felt all the better for seeing this film. Once again, Mr. Mendes has confirmed my suspicions that those folks living in the suburbs are a little crazy.

Kevin’s rating:
See While In Theatre**

**(Rating System)

See Immediately = See immediately before a moronic co-worker or pedantic movie reviewer spoils the plot.

See While In Theatre = Don’t rush out, but see it while in the theatre, even though your hard-earned money is subsidizing the salary that some jerk off movie producer will be paying to the live-in Mexican maid at his new Malibu home.

Wait For Video = Self-evident.

Wait For Cable = Don’t waste the five bucks or the effort of putting the movie onto your Netflix cue.

Wait For Television = Best to see when you’re too tired or lazy to get off the couch to put a decent movie into the DVD player.

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