In 1997, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet joined the ranks of cinema's most memorable onscreen lovers with the film "Titanic." Unfortunately for viewers who expect the return of Kate and Leo's undying love, "Revolutionary Road" is a depressing, shocking account of the slow destruction of a 1950s "nuclear family" - a far cry away from star-crossed lovers in the North Atlantic in 1912.
DiCaprio and Winslet, as married Frank and April Wheeler, used to be happy. In a flashback, the film recounts how they fell in love at a college party, then juxtaposes that scene with a particularly nasty war of words between the two some years later. In the years following, they have slowly grown apart as they have fallen into married life in the conservative 1950s. While Frank commutes with the masses to work in the city (in a scene recalling Lang's "Metropolis"), April stays at home as the perfect housewife. But their lives are hardly perfect until they realize it. When they do, the Wheelers decide to escape the monotony of the social ideal and go away to Paris. This, in turn, rekindles the love of their slowly dying marriage, and the Wheelers become a happy couple again. However, when obstacles arise, including the offer of a promotion for Frank at work, tensions resurface, and the Wheelers find their marriage beginning to spiral out of control until the shocking, disturbing conclusion.
Although Leo is no longer the baby-faced heartthrob at whom girls used to throw themselves, it might be just as well because it allows his acting, which continues to mature, to stand out. The sheer strength and natural style of his performance is undeniable. Meanwhile, Winslet continues to be remarkable as April, realized as a character through her ability to vivify every emotion that besets her, even through body and facial acting alone. Finally, Michael Shannon makes his mark as John Givings, in a performance as impressive as those of the two leads. Givings is given the ironic designation of being mentally ill, although he has the best insight into oppressive suburban unhappiness of any other character. His performance certainly stands out for the attention he draws - not only for his surprising (yet amusing) lines, but for the intensity of his acting.
With maturity seemingly being the greatest topic of note concerning the film, this becomes just as important to director Sam Mendes' work, which I would declare even stronger than his debut, one of my personal favorites, 1999's "American Beauty." While I enjoy and respect that film, "Revolutionary Road" just seems to fall into place so much more effortlessly. I would say that "Revolutionary Road" has a tighter screenplay with fewer (at least in part) contrived character constructions than "American Beauty" and would furthermore make the unbiased case that "Revolutionary Road" is the best picture of the year.
While the first two films to which "Revolutionary Road" will garner comparisons are "Titanic" and "American Beauty," it is powerful enough on its own that viewers will quickly forget both. "Revolutionary Road" is something new and different because it analyzes the 1950s "nuclear family" from a perspective that shows its weakness and failure rather than its popular valorization as a "standard." The film's honesty in its narrative and the characters' heartfelt portrayal determinedly shows the flaws of life. In fact, this is one film that will remain implanted in American consciousness for years to come.
