Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet try to escape their life in the suburbs in the drama REVOLUTIONARY ROAD.
Dicaprio and Winslet are Frank and April Wheeler, an outwardly happy family along with their two children, Michael and Jennifer. Frank works an office job, while April plays housewife, and various characters through the community theatre group.
Dicaprio and Winslet are Frank and April Wheeler, an outwardly happy family along with their two children, Michael and Jennifer. Frank works an office job, while April plays housewife, and various characters through the community theatre group.
Both Frank and April long for something more. April aspired to be an acclaimed actress, while Frank’s future was never fully realized. The tense couple hopes to avoid their dreaded life in the suburbs by developing a new beginning for their family overseas.
Suburban angst is nothing new from director Sam Mendes. Mendes debut film AMERCAN BEAUTY dealt with the shortcomings of miring oneself in a superficial situation, but worked its way through it’s characters struggles to find a light at the end of the tunnel. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD sees no light at the end of Frank and April’s tunnel just a dark, suburban abyss where bright-eyed individuals go to have their dreams die.
MARLEY AND ME the less acclaimed, but more honest and real portrait of the American family, displays the joys and pains, sacrifice and success of balancing personal, professional and family needs. Outside of their pristine abode on Revolutionary Road, the Wheelers life is painted in broad strokes of anxiety. Although Frank’s job is far from glamorous, his well-paying desk job is portrayed as a career trap where Frank’s professional ambitions are thwarted. April is not a happy mother of two, but a tormented woman, who finds no solace in her acting or children. The children themselves are more devices than characters, providing no joy for Frank or April, but rather roadblocks for the couples wants.
Dicaprio and Winslet have received much critical acclaim for their performances, but that surprises me, as their portrayals were heavy-handed and out-of-touch. Mendes direction is just as contrived, smearing a cynical portrait of middle-class America.
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD may aspire to be a cautionary tale on comprise, unfortunately its narrow-minded and ham-fisted delivery makes for a painstaking trip through the suburbs.
Grade: C-
MARLEY AND ME the less acclaimed, but more honest and real portrait of the American family, displays the joys and pains, sacrifice and success of balancing personal, professional and family needs. Outside of their pristine abode on Revolutionary Road, the Wheelers life is painted in broad strokes of anxiety. Although Frank’s job is far from glamorous, his well-paying desk job is portrayed as a career trap where Frank’s professional ambitions are thwarted. April is not a happy mother of two, but a tormented woman, who finds no solace in her acting or children. The children themselves are more devices than characters, providing no joy for Frank or April, but rather roadblocks for the couples wants.
Dicaprio and Winslet have received much critical acclaim for their performances, but that surprises me, as their portrayals were heavy-handed and out-of-touch. Mendes direction is just as contrived, smearing a cynical portrait of middle-class America.
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD may aspire to be a cautionary tale on comprise, unfortunately its narrow-minded and ham-fisted delivery makes for a painstaking trip through the suburbs.
Grade: C-
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