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Revolutionary Road


Revolutionary Road
directed by Sam Mendes

It's 1955 and Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April (Kate Winslet) are living the he American suburban dream. Frank has a steady job and April is a stay at home mum. They have a two children and a lovely house in a leafy road, but all is not well within their marriage.

A very well acted film, although slightly 'stagey' in feel, it's a pithy comment on suburban life, the role of women as was in the 1950s, the dilemmas in life we all have about fitting personal fulfilment around the day to day economic reality of getting by,

The strict social conformity of those days came across very well, and was portrayed visually nicely by things like Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) followed on his whole journey to the office from home, in a sea of other male commuters all grey suited, behatted and newspaper carrying. The inability of April (Kate Winslet) to find any kind of happiness outside the home was a terrible indictment of those times. Here she is portrayed as a woman with some bottle but her spirit is broken by Frank turning his back on the dream she has of upping sticks. I really wanted the end to be different but it was sadly very predictable.

There's some great period touches - the clothes, the cocktail drinking, the attempts to keep face, the dressing up for drinks with neighbours.

Ultimately though the film felt like it lasted 3 hours when it was only actually just on 2 hours, and I just kept wishing they'd just be grateful with what they actually did have and just bloody well get on with it. My sympathy lay with April, but that's probably a woman siding with another woman, but if this had've been working class inner city not middle class suburbia April would've had a job anyway and not been moping around the house filling time folding clothes Also there's a disturbing sidelining of the children, they never seem to form part of the family- what's all that about then?

I've heard the book is very good, but I'm afraid the film was a bit of a bore. (imo)

2.5/5