So I saw the much talked about Revolutionary Road film over the weekend, and I must say that I was not particularly thrilled. For a movie with such a title, I was expecting something...um, revolutionary. Before I completely cut it apart, let me say that Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are amazing actors and in this circumstance, the movie did not do them any justice.
DISCLAIMER: If you haven't seen the movie and you plan on it, don't read any further because i'm about to tell all the bizness.
The premise (for those who have been living at the bottom of the sea) is a young couple in the 1950's have bought into the "American Dream" of the nice house, two kids and a seemingly stable marriage. But after the first 8 minutes of the film, it's obvious that their marriage is tragically far from stable. The wife, April Wheeler (Kate) is severely unhappy with her housewife role and longs for the acting career she had always dreamed of. The monotony of her life seems to have taken its toll on her as boredom and depression sinks in, and she slowly loses emotional touch with her surroundings as she begs to bust out of the surburban bubble.
The husband, Frank (Leo) is somewhat of a gullible man who works a job he can't stand and does little else besides cheat on his wife with a pie-faced secretary and argue with April. The couple realizes that they have sold their souls to the mundane suburban society and it has drained every ounce of life and passion they once had within. April hatches a random plan to move to Paris, hoping this would give their dull lives a splash of color. Frank agrees and seems to love the idea of the move.
A wrench is thrown into the plans when April gets pregnant (gasp! did they not know that's what happens when you f*ck in the kitchen without using any contraception?) and Frank starts getting some respect and admiration from his bosses at work. April dreads the thought of having another baby and adding more to the weight of her susie homemaker life. Frank dreads the thought of her having an abortion. Once again, they argue bitterly...and loudly. April would agree to have the child as long as they can still move to Paris. Frank isn't feeling it anymore. April's dream of getting out is slowly dying and so is she. They argue more. And then some more. Frank bangs the secretary again. April does the married next door neighbor who is also a mutual friend of hers and Frank's. Life spirals downward. April claims she doesn't love Frank any more and is actually beginning to despise him. Frank cries and screams and slams doors. (Grade A acting done here by DiCaprio. He looks as if he's about to pop a blood vessel) April leaves to wander in the woods aimlessly. Frank gets drunk. April comes back, goes to sleep and the next day, the sun is shining and she's in the kitchen scrambling eggs as if she she hadn't just told her husband that she couldn't stand the sight of him. Frank hesitantly (he looks scared) sits down for breakfast and nervously eyes his wife, wondering why she's so calm. She reassures him and sends him off to work with a smile on his face. I don't know why he's smiling, because it's painfully obvious to the audience that April is playing nice to keep from breaking down, and we see why as she proceeds to give herself a home abortion. Not so smart. The abortion is successful and she also manages to kill herself in the process. Bam. Movie over.
Now like I said, Leo and Kate are great actors and they gave it their all throughout the entire movie. And there is a clinically psychotic man who is the son of the Wheeler's realtor who gives the film its much needed humor as he bluntly explains to Frank and April just how dumb they are for living a life they both can't stand. But other than that, the plot is just empty. For such a heavy topic, it just seemed so blah. I get the point of the film. To give us new millenium junkies an inside view of how wacked out things truly were back in the 50s when people were attempting to live perfect cookie cutter lives. But I never saw anything revolutionary. As my girlfriend pointed out, they lived on a road named Revolutionary, and that was about it. The movie was depressing and made me hope and pray that I never allow my career to milk all of the enjoyment out of my young life. Cuz I'll turn into April in a bat of an eye. Lol. The movie also made me thankful that in 2009, SOME of us seem way more comfortable admitting to being completely screwed up and having the balls to do what it takes to change it.
Anywho, the movie was so so. I coulda netflixed it that way I could have drank a few glasses of alcohol to numb the depressing blahness of it all. I'm sure I would enjoy the book far better than the movie, as usual. I also saw Slumdog Millionaire and that did not disappoint at all. Glad I paid the 7.50 for that one and snuck into Rev Rd :-)
Next film on the dock :
Comes out Feb. 20th and I can't wait!!!!
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