For me, there have been three truly brilliant film releases in the last year: Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader, and Revolutionary Road. However, whilst the greatest strength of the first two is the plot or storyline, the power behind Revolutionary Road comes in the tour de force of acting given by all involved.
THE PLOT: The story itself is fairly low key: Frank and April (Leo Di Caprio and Kate Winslett) are a normal couple in 1950s America. On the surface they are liked and respected, but go a little deeper and they're both massively unfulfilled. In a moment of creativity, they decide to move to Paris to follow the life they always wanted, but April's new pregnancy soon puts stop to that, and the couple spiral down into brokenness.
WAS IT ANY GOOD: Although perhaps an average story, it is the acting that powers this film. Di Caprio and Winslett are just amazing in giving performances that are instantly authentic and believable. Perhaps their Titanic chemistry set them in good stead, but they are just completely awe inspiring in their roles. Both give career best performances (which is really saying something for Di Caprio). They portray the full gamut of emotions in the film, and do so brilliantly. Winslett, perhaps, gives the better of the two performances, with a very subtle and restrained intensity, whereas Di Caprio goes all out in his portrayal of a more vulnerable man.
The themes of the film, whilst subtle, also make it a winner. It's a very American film in that it questions the American Dream. In fact, a lot of it reminded me of Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman', and some of the lines are so similar it must have been an influence. The film questions the nuclear family, the American Dream, and the idea that you can be happy if you have a good job. The question of 'what brings true fulfilment in life' is raised but not answered: it is the question of the film, but we only see the things that fail to answer it: infidelity, career, children, house, reputation, and marriage. The answer is for the audience to decide.
One of the clever things about the film is the way that both Frank and April are broken people; there's no one person who is a mess and the other is OK - both have their issues.
IN CONCLUSION: This film is not going to appeal to everyone, in that the storyline is subtle and deep, but the acting and themes make it a remarkable film, one that rightly deserves the Oscar nominations it has received.
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Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Another Film I think is totally over-rated, having sat through it in the Cinema. It's hard work indeed, but a nice, easy to read review there.........Roy.......
Based on a novel by Richard Yates and directed by Sam Mendes Revolutionary Road stars ... more
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslett as Frank and April Wheeler; a young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s who struggle to come to terms with...
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Advantages: The cast is great, production values impeccable, music is fine Disadvantages: Cruise gives worst performance in long time, story is handled the wrong way
eve6kicksass 29.12.2008 (29.12.2008)
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