 |
Revolutionary Road
| Movie Rating: |
 | 8/10 |
|
| DVD Rating: |
| 8/10 |
|
| Overall Rating: |
| 7/10 |
|
Movie Details: View Here
|
Starring:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Kate Winslet
Kathy Bates
Special Features:
Commentary with Director Sam Mendes and Screenwriter Justin Haythe
Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Director Sam Mendes and Screenwriter Justin Haythe
Lives of Quiet Desperation: The Making of Revolutionary Road
Other Info:
Video: Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic)
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Run Time: 118 min
Rating: R
Synopsis from DVD Cover:
Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio and Academy Award winner Kate Winslet reunite for two powerful, groundbreaking performances in Revolutionary Road. Based on the bestseller by Richard Yates, this mesmerizing and moving story follows the lives of a passionate young couple living in suburban Connecticut who decide to risk everything to pursue their dreams. They're willing to break away from the ordinary - but can they do it without breaking apart?
Quick Review:
"Revolutionary Road" marks the acting reunion of star-crossed "Titanic" lovers Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio-but it's been a long time, and they're no Jack and Rose. Gone are the days of romance and love, replaced now with angry resentment and an almost numbing dissatisfaction with the world around them. These two play blind entitlement like there's no tomorrow, and the train wreck of a marriage we bear witness to is impossible to look away from.
They seem happy to the outside world, but Frank and Alice Wheeler (DiCaprio and Winslet) are a big mess. Sure they've got two healthy children, a nice home, and Frank's moving up at his job - but they're special (at least they think so), and were destined for more. April hatches a brilliant plan-ditch suburbia and hightail it to Paris to rekindle their dreams and passions. It's a great plan, until, of course, it inevitably falls apart and real life settles in again, and for Frank and April, it's all downhill from there.
Frank and April are quite possibly two of the most delusional characters to grace the screen in quite a while. I mean, seriously, you think all will be solved by moving to Paris to figure out just exactly what you're "special" for? Really? But there's also something in that self-absorption that almost everyone can relate to - especially the desperation that happens when the dream begins to crumble. Director Sam Mendes knows his way around dysfunction, and he captures not only the stifled, repressive air of the 50s, but the look and feel of it. Winslet and DiCaprio, I'm sure you've heard, knock their roles out of the park like they've been waiting ten years for this - and boy oh boy are these some caustic fights - mean and melodramatic, but somehow we keep watching, even when we feel intrusive. And Michael Shannon, who's only in the film for less than 15 minutes as a neighbor's son visiting from the mental institution, rips his way through some of the best scenes in this movie and any other, spitting out words that burn away any of the pretensions Frank and Alice may have had left. There was talk that Winslet was a little peeved the "The Reader" got the awards push and this film didn't, and as an overall work, I have to say I agree.
The DVD features some solid Bonus Material, and fans of the film, Winslet, and DiCaprio will find the additions necessary viewing. First, there's an Audio Commentary by Mendes and screenwriter Justin Haythe that shows exactly how much they put in to every aspect of this movie. There's also "Lives of Quiet Desperation: The Making of Revolutionary Road," which not only offers the typical behind the scenes stuff, but also five deleted scenes (with commentary) that are all worthy of a look. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it's a decent Extras package.
In Conclusion:
It's not a nice movie to watch, but stirring performances by Winslet and DiCaprio as well as a keen eye for period detail elevate a movie that could've easily come off as indulgent and shrill.
|
