If there is one in inescapably aspect of Revolutionary Road is that picture feels dated, though its themes of suburban hell ring true even today. And one can’t also escape that Mendes vivisected these same themes in American Beauty.
The script is fine, the acting of both Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio is marvelous and the production design glorious. Director Sam Mendes is also in fine form, though at times the film felt staged, like the theatrical production April Wheeler was in at the beginning of the film. And while Richard Yates novel of 1950's America gone horribly wrong was probably -if you can excuse the phrase - revolutionary when the book came out in 1962, but today its themes have been discussed and dissected over the last 46 years.
When my mom and dad moved to the suburbs after I was born in 1962, life there seemed to be filled with endless hope. And for some, this life worked, while for others that life seemed dull and listless. Ironically, I think, that most kids my age and maybe a decade younger are moving back into the city, realizing that while the suburbs offered open space to build a family, there was -and still is - an undertow, a darkening theme that fitting in is more important than living.
April Wheeler was not crazy, or insane, she felt -like many lost souls who understand that there is more to life than just a husband, a house and kids to a life - the suburban life was really a dead end, much like the 1950s.
And in the back of his head, I think even Frank sees it is also, but he is afraid to be different, to stand up for himself. Life in the suburbs for many is a living hell, while others its divine.
Revolutionary Road is a good picture, with great performances from the entire cast, including the creepy Michael Shannon (who oddly looks like DiCaprio at times) as John Givings. But again, I feel the films themes never come close to really making you feel sorry for either them, and would say that AMC’s Mad Men is a better example of the conformity that Yates novel was after.
The script is fine, the acting of both Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio is marvelous and the production design glorious. Director Sam Mendes is also in fine form, though at times the film felt staged, like the theatrical production April Wheeler was in at the beginning of the film. And while Richard Yates novel of 1950's America gone horribly wrong was probably -if you can excuse the phrase - revolutionary when the book came out in 1962, but today its themes have been discussed and dissected over the last 46 years.
When my mom and dad moved to the suburbs after I was born in 1962, life there seemed to be filled with endless hope. And for some, this life worked, while for others that life seemed dull and listless. Ironically, I think, that most kids my age and maybe a decade younger are moving back into the city, realizing that while the suburbs offered open space to build a family, there was -and still is - an undertow, a darkening theme that fitting in is more important than living.
April Wheeler was not crazy, or insane, she felt -like many lost souls who understand that there is more to life than just a husband, a house and kids to a life - the suburban life was really a dead end, much like the 1950s.
And in the back of his head, I think even Frank sees it is also, but he is afraid to be different, to stand up for himself. Life in the suburbs for many is a living hell, while others its divine.
Revolutionary Road is a good picture, with great performances from the entire cast, including the creepy Michael Shannon (who oddly looks like DiCaprio at times) as John Givings. But again, I feel the films themes never come close to really making you feel sorry for either them, and would say that AMC’s Mad Men is a better example of the conformity that Yates novel was after.
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