Blog Review: Revolutionary Road

Directed by: Sam Mendes
Produced by: Bobby Cohen, Sam Mendes, Scott Rudin, Sharan Kapoor
Written by: Justin Haythe and based on the book by Richard Yates
Starring: Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kathy Bates

Revolutionary Road

Frank’s (DiCaprio) attraction is inevitable when he first lays his eyes on April, (Winslet) a young, sexy woman blowing smoke from her cigarette giving Frank a smoldering look of mystery. This is where their life together begins. Both first speak of wanting to explore, not be a part of the mainstream, live a life that is daring and exciting. It is their desire to be a different couple that attracts them towards each other, their life should be different than what is considered the norm.
A few years later they find themselves far from what they both dreamed of. Married with children, their lives are at a standstill. They seem like the perfect suburban to outsiders. They have two beautiful blond-haired blue-eyed children with a nice little house down on Revolutionary Road. Their lives seem perfect as Frank works for Knox business. But when Frank turns thirty, he feels restless and cheats on his wife. April, sick of her cookie-cutter life as a suburban wife, starts to numb herself from feeling anything, especially love for her husband.
Trying to help themselves love each other again, both promise each other to go to Paris and leave everything they have behind, just as they wanted to when they first met each other. April tells Frank that she’ll work as a secretary so he can figure out what he wants to do with his life as they enjoy Paris. Soon, they start telling their friends their Paris plans who in turn think that they are ridiculous for leaving their perfect lives. Then, Frank gets a promotion at the job he hates making him rethink the move to Paris. April, angry that Frank will not commit to their dream starts to disconnect herself from him once again. Fights starts, affairs commence, and no matter how hard the two try to love each other again, the disconnect between them is too strong. April feels that they are living a lie and hates herself and Frank for what they’ve become.
Revolutionary Road shows that broken promises are what can make or break relationships. In the story, the characters have changed so much from how they were when they fell in love and society has influenced them to “do the right thing” so they cannot be themselves anymore. The story is painful and very real. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet do an amazing job of portraying heartbreak, hatred and hope. By no means is this movie a Titanic remake. The love the characters feel for each other in Titanic is short-lived in Revolutionary Road and the movie is heartbreaking as well as depressing. This movie is recommended for anyone who enjoys great acting and character depth and realistic movies.