http://filmeyeballsbrain.com/2009/02/02/sam-mendes-revolutionary-road-2008/

I wasn’t too familiar with the storyline when I started watching this film and the beginning seemed very promising… but then everything just got strange. A motionless family-life and a hope to escape the emptiness of social standards by pursuing a life in Paris – like I said, since I didn’t know what to expect I was a bit taken aback. I’m not saying Revolutionary Road was a bad film, or a boring one, and had I been prepared for this kind of a story, I most likely would have appreciated it more while watching. Now that I’ve had time to think it over, the story and the subjects it touches, are thought-provoking, even distressing at times. Even though the film is set in the 1950s, some of the topics are still relevant today. Back then, the norms of how to live a normal life were much more strict but even today, when freedom in any form is greatly encouraged and appreciated, people trap themselves in meagre lives, dull themselves into mediocrity and ordinariness. So it makes me wonder, how much has really changed?

This movie was amazing, the best i’ve seen in theatres in i’m not sure how long…

the movie touches on some tough themes, made even more complex by the social constraints of the fifties, not to mention the then emerging idea of suburban affluence.

there’s so much to discuss that it’s really quite hard to tackle it all…

winslet and dicaprio are a young couple living in the ‘hopeless emptiness’ of the american dream life…two children, a lovely house in the suburbs, etc.

both are realizing that they are gradually falling into the trap that they both felt they were far too clever for, too special.

these characters are a wonderful link of the atmosphere of the 50’s moving into the 60’s, when people began to question social and gender roles.

dicaprio is great but winslet is especially wonderful, conveying pages of dialogue with 8 seconds of a silent head shot…

there are layers upon layers in this movie. like i said, i can’t even go into it all. my husband and i talked for 45 minutes nonstop after we left, seeing ourselves as a young married couple mirrored in some parts of the movie (making decisions between a safe but boring career or finding what is truly satisfying, whether to play into the expected roles of society or not).

i don’t want to say too much in fear of ruining it. this movie reminds me of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, but I have to say, I think this is better.

i have to say though, i’m not sure many people were as affected by it as we were. there were people laughing at random parts in it that i found were definately NOT comedic. i took the realtor’s son to play a role similar to that of a greek chorus, not some comedy relief.

the themes addressed in this movie are intriguing to see played out against the backdrop of the fifties, but the ideas are as pertinent today as then. these are real issues.

anyhow, HIGHLY recommend. if you’re analytical and like to delve into the mechanics of relationships or explore the effect that societal/gender standards have on people, have fun!

Revolutionary Road is the story of a couple’s rocky relationship, set in the fifties. These two people would like to think they’re special, but by their actions they make themselves ordinary.

My main problem with this movie is that it’s too obvious. You can see the train wreck coming a mile away. And just to make sure that you get the point, an oracular crazy guy pops up twice to scream the truth in their (and our) faces. You want to say to the couple, “Listen to the crazy guy! He’s telling it like it is!” But they don’t.

Despite that, it’s an absorbing story, worth watching. One that makes you think “whew, good thing I missed out on the fifties!”.

I watched this film today and it was mentally exhausting, emotionally draining and very depressing. Imagine having to live a life of monotony with the confines and restrictions that have been forced upon you by 1950’s post-war society whilst expected to embody the qualities of the common archetype of a happily married suburban couple and if not, at least, feign a veneer of happiness.
April Wheeler, a suburban housewife, is discontent with her life and seeks a means of escape. She yearns for change, more specifically, a life in Paris. Frank Wheeler, a businessman working in corporate America, longs to discover his passions and truly live rather than exist but is comfortable in the security his present life offers.
First, I must confess that I found myself unable to fully empathise with either character as they were both to blame for their misery. I considered April to be particularly selfish, engaging in navel-gazing for most of the film. She had no sense of responsibility, and didn’t even appear to be interested in her children or appreciative of her husband’s efforts to support his family. Frank, her husband, did have some sense of responsibility which was evidently lacking in his wife. Be that as it may, he had his foolish moments where he would frequently and deliberately provoke his wife despite her already teetering on the brink of psychosis. I can understand April despising the vapidity of her seemingly hollow existence, however, I believe April’s greatest fault lied in her failure to grasp the simple truth that change comes from within. She disagreed with society’s conventions and yet, she never defied them. She could have easily acquired a job whilst remaining at her current place of residence. Furthermore, who’s to say that Parisians were not equally as absorbed as the Americans in the frivolities of life which she found to be meaningless and inconsequential?
I was frustrated with the couple and as I mentioned previously, I was unable to empathise with them but that did not stop me from sympathising with them; I felt for them dearly and I enjoyed playing spectator to their lives. It was devastating to see how unrealised dreams, ambitions and plans could cause a person to falter and fall so far. The ending was very plausible albeit tragic and unsettling and as the credits rolled, I walked out with that surreal feeling one has after having watched a powerful, gripping piece of cinema. In spite of its cliched theme, ‘Revolutionary Road’ emanated realism and Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio delivered spectacular performances in their respective roles. I loved how the film did not manipulate viewers into feeling acute sorrow by depicting the protagonists as heroes or victims or as likable characters with several redeeming qualities but simply as they were, in the rawest form; two immensely flawed human beings.