Review: Revolutionary Road

Revolutionary Road

It's a reunion! Leo and Kate reunite for the first time in 11 years for "Revolutionary Road." Directed by Kate Winslet's husband, Sam Mendes, this film - in the same vein as Mendes' previous work - is very engaging, as well as emotionally exhausting. Just as Mendes' did in 1999's "American Beauty", he gives us a glimpse of the dark side of suburban life.

Set in the mid-1950's, in suburban Connecticut, Frank and April Wheeler are your typical suburbanite couple -- their worst nightmare! Everyday, Frank goes to his job in New York City. Everyday, feeling more unfulfilled. April is a failed actress, now playing the role of stay-at-home wife and mother to their two children. Desperate to break out of their rut, April approaches Frank with a proposition: Move to Paris! Where they have always wanted to go, together. Reluctantly, Frank answers "Yes!" With that answer, it seems that their failed marriage and their bourgeois lifestyle are no more! But, when a few incentives are thrown their way, Frank starts to find it difficult to break away from their safe, comfortable lives. April, on the other hand, is still desperate to secede. This conflict of interest creates a rift in the rejuvenated couples marriage; ultimately leading to it's shocking conclusion.

Director Sam Mendes, like his work in Jarhead and American Beauty, gives you an introspective look into the minds of this perpetually deteriorating couple. Moments of levity keep Revolutionary Road from falling into a melancholy bore. Moments like when Frank and April return home after being grilled over their improvisational decision to move to Paris, they seem to find common ground in their arrogance. As if they're better than their neighborhood peers. Leonardo DiCaprio is great (like always) as Frank Wheeler, the young hot-shot at the office who is constantly battling with his fear of becoming "second-rate" -- just like his father. Kate Winslet plays April, the whimsical ying to his yang. Winslet is on fire in this movie, pinpointing every nuance of April Wheeler as if she wears this character, instead of portraying her. A real player in this film sadly over-looked is Michael Shannon. Shannon plays John Givings, the son of the Wheeler's gossipy real estate agent, Helen Givings (Kathy Bates). John, with his four-hour passes from the "funny farm", pays a couple of visits to the Wheelers and really cuts to the core of their defeated marriage. Initially in praise of the couples poise and unwillingness to conform, things turn sour for him; and with an impetuous argument between Frank and John, things turn sour for the picture-perfect Wheeler family.

Every player in this film shows up, and with a vengeance. Revolutionary Road leaves it's impression on you. It's raw and unapologetic in it's portrayal. Mendes is back -- in the same way he first got our attention with American Beauty -- with a harsh realism: That we may need to "... look closer."