Revolutionary Road

Oh my god can you even handle it. Another post TODAY. You are just so lucky.

Crystal and I just got back from seeing Revolutionary Road. I've written about it here before - the trailers looked amazing. Like Kate and I discussed on here earlier, and like she said, every time I saw the trailers I wanted to see this movie more and more. I was absorbed by the seemingly morbid decay of the two main characters and their love for one another.

But, after seeing the movie, I wasn't that impressed. Initially, I hated it. I wanted to walk out. BUT I stuck it through. And I was glad I did, if only for the fact that I got to see how the movie ended.

I could really relate to the movie, and its major themes: being brave enough to live the life you want to live and not just "getting by"; feeling as though you are meant to accomplish important things in your life; movement v. stasis; the importance of honesty. Crystal and I were talking about these, and she said that she was surprised at these themes, that she didn't think most people could or would relate to them. I agree, especially with how they are explored in the film, though I appreciated and felt deep connections to these themes.

I just couldn't really relate to the characters. Perhaps that's being a bit too harsh. The two main characters (Frank and April, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, respectively) weren't that likable. And it didn't really seem like they were meant to be unlikable.

Frank came across as if he was supposed to be an everyman, and April seemed as though she was supposed to represented the majority of dissatisfied housewives in the 1950's. But I really didn't care about either of them. And in a movie where the majority of the plotline revolves around the disintegration of these two characters and their relationship with one another, that sort of disconnect is detrimental to the film.

And honestly, I was a little disappointed with the acting. Leonardo DiCaprio seemed like he was doing Jack Nicholson for a better part of the film, especially in the beginning, and Kate Winslet seemed a little too dramatic. However, Crystal suggested that she thinks this was purposeful - that Frank was supposed to be overly dramatic, and played like a fake, as was April's role. I can get behind that. I do agree. It just seemed a little too heavy-handed for me. I'm not a big fan of movies where I can tell that it's been adapted from a novel, or short story, or a play. And the dialogue seemed very much like it was taken from the pages of a novel (which it was).

There was nothing too striking about the way this film was shot. The best scene in the movie, in my opinion, was a scene where the camera was focused on April during another character's monologue. This character was completely out of focus, in the background, standing above April in a shadowy doorway. That was brilliant. The shaky hand-cam shots during the emotional climax of the movie I could have definitely done without.

All in all, I wouldn't see this movie again. But I am glad I saw it. The trailer was much better (in my opinion), but I would recommend people seeing this - because though I think that its main themes are such that not many people will feel connected and invested in them, I think that there are elements of the movie and characters that will resonate with people, perhaps more than it resonated with me.

If I were doing a rating by stars (which I don't, but let's pretend) it would get 2 out of 5.

AND THAT'S THAT.