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*Nora* · 09-10-2008, 09:21 AM

IMDB: Revolutionary Road (2008)

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April (Kate Winslet) and Frank Wheeler (Leonardo DiCaprio) are a young, thriving couple living with their two children in a Connecticut suburb in the mid-1950s. Their self-assured exterior masks a creeping frustration at their inability to feel fulfilled in their relationships or careers. Frank is mired in a well-paying but boring office job, and April is a housewife still mourning the demise of her hoped-for acting career. Determined to identify themselves as superior to the mediocre sprawl of suburbanites who surround them, they decide to move to France where they will be better able to develop their true artistic sensibilities, free of the consumerist demands of capitalist America. As their relationship deteriorates into an endless cycle of squabbling, jealousy and recriminations, their trip and their dreams of self-fulfillment are thrown into jeopardy.

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio ... Frank Wheeler
Kate Winslet ... April Wheeler
Kathy Bates ... Mrs. Helen Givings
Kathryn Hahn ... Milly Campbell
Michael Shannon ... John Givings
Zoe Kazan ... Maureen Grube
Ty Simpkins ... Michael Wheeler
Ryan Simpkins ... Jennifer Wheeler

Movie Review:

Quote:

Revolutionary Road
Genre: Dramas
[10 out of 10] Review by Alma, on 09-Sep-2008

I was lucky enough to attend the advance screening for this film, and I can gladly say it wasn't a disappointment. In fact it was something of a triumph. "Revolutionary Road" is an all around beautifully, artistically crafted film with powerhouse performances - a heartbreaking character study of a young couple coming to grips with a kind of early life crisis.

A show-stopping Leonardo DiCaprio becomes Frank Wheeler - the point of view which the story is mostly told from - with remarkable power and an insight we only get from the greatest kind of actors. Allowing the audience to become fully immersed in his psyche, letting us feel everything with him. Living his pain, resentment, and the smörgåsbord of emotions in between. It is a highly accomplished piece of acting from the lead actor that I cannot imagine being ignored come this award season. Frank is a flawed man that many people will be able to see aspects of themselves in. Not being satisfied with marriage, family, work. Feeling we are meant or destined for something greater, yet paradoxically feeling the doubt and insecurity in ourselves to really go after it. He's depressed, has a past he can't seem to let go of, he's arrogant, he's a liar, he's manipulative and in many ways immature. Yet we know him. He's our father growing up, he's a brother, friend or possibly even you. He makes mistakes and is almost embarrassingly human. What I found ultimately tragic about him was not the way in which he lied to others but the way in which he lied to himself. Leo DiCaprio uses his expressive face to brilliant effect as Frank. He was terrific in "Aviator" , "Blood Diamond", "This Boy's Life" and others and has rightfully earned his place as one of the finest actors of his generation. Having said that, this is a whole new layer to DiCaprio that none of us have seen before. He brings a new, mature type of authentic subtlety to his craft. He doesn't resort to any big physical transformation. It's all internal. This is a new height for him, and easily the greatest acting of his career. A performance of great emotional intensity and depth that I can say without hesitation, will be remembered for generations to come.

Kate Winslet, one of the finest actresses of her generation plays April Wheeler with a sharp fervor. She is angry, depressed and like Frank feels she is destined for something greater than a life of conformity in the burbs. She is a tragic character in that she is basically a closed book, she shuns the love that people try to give her, she is a free spirit and quite the handful. She comes up with an idea to break free of the conformity she shares with her husband in an attempt to revive their marriage and at first it seems to work - the passion for life and each other reignited. But after an unexpected event and other factors, will the dream plan go through?

The chemistry between Winslet and DiCaprio in "Revolutionary Road" reminded me in many ways of the chemistry between Liz Taylor and Richard Burton in the 1966 film "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". They create an intensity in their arguments that is electric and palpable. You cannot take your eyes off them, they glue you to the screen and stick it to each other as sharply as the couple from "Virginia Woolf" were able to. Frank and April's story is grounded in a greater, more painful reality, however.

I honestly cannot wait to watch this. Not only do I enjoy Kate and Leo's onscreen chemistry immensely, but I also love a good drama. Especially when it's well acted.