Moon Minis - Revolutionary Road

Revolutionary Road

An audio version of the review for your convenience.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet team up again in this Sam Mendes-directed drama about a '50s family struggling to find interest in their lives besides the white-picket, 9-5 cubicle job rut they're stuck in. While DiCaprio is off making money (and having affairs with office workers), Winslet is stuck inside, doing housework and caring for the children. Their marriage breaking down, they propose a radical change to their lives - moving to Paris for a new experience.

Revolutionary Road is beautiful yet depressing, pitiful and yet somehow likable. Mendes' shot choices are lush and stylish, accenting the day-to-day activities of the couple yet accomplishing increased tension throughout the film. Revolutionary Road is a film that must be taken as a whole; in fact, the pacing is somewhat slow and tedious throughout much of it. If you're looking for something big to happen, you will be sorely disappointed, as much of the film is back-and-forth dialogue. It's a great character study, and the film highlights just how strong the on-screen chemistry (or in this case, the lack of it) is between DiCaprio and Winslet. Fights abound, some more intense than others, but all are emotionally moving.

The only real problem is the slow pacing, yet when one hits the end of the film it seems it has been all worth it. With a disturbing, depressing finale, the viewer can hardly help but be moved by the two hours we've seen of this detached couple. Mendes does a great job, but it's hardly a film I could watch again and again. I expect the film probably worked much better as the novel by Richard Yates than a movie.

Revolutionary Road on Rotten Tomatoes