Revolutionary Road (2008)
Revolutionary Road(2008) 8/10
Revolutionary Road is the movie Kate Winslet should have won best actress for, instead of The Reader. As a tale of suburban disenchantment, Revolutionary Road makes the desperate housewives of wisteria lane look childish by comparison. Revolutionary Road is the stronger movie because the story, based on the celebrated novel of the same name is quietly powerful. And it’s ace is the winning combination of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in their first onscreen pairing since Titanic. Both of them have matured in terms of acting and they share an incredible chemistry that gives the film a powerful momentum. They seem to feed off each other’s energy and both gives superlative performances. Also of note is Michael Shannon in an Oscar nominated supporting performance that nearly steals the show from the talented leads. Perhaps the only demerit is that the film feels a tad too Oscar-bait. Nevertheless for one of the strongest performance of the year, and possibly one of the best on-screen couples, Revolutionary Road is well worth your time. If anything, the very idea of the film, that we live boring soulless lives because we are too afraid to change resonates deeply. The anomie that Dicaprio’s character feels as he toils in a job he hates but needs is a mirror to people’s lives. It places starkly idealism personified by Winslet’s character and pragmatism personified by DiCaprio. And in one beautifully set up argument between DiCaprio and Winslet, the director masterfully uses lighting to great effect with half of DiCaprio’s face shrouded in darkness while Winslet’s character is fully illuminated throughout the entire scene. It provides a powerful juxtaposition, all the more engaging because of the talent and chemistry between the leads.
“This film is so good it is devastating. A lot of people believe their parents didn’t understand them. What if they didn’t understand themselves?”- Roger Ebert.
