David O'ConnellRevolutionary Road
February 2nd 2009 04:44
The words of Richard Yates scorch the screen in this painful, confronting adaptation of his 1961 novel by screenwriter Justin Haythe and director Sam Mendes. The British-born helmer is no stranger to peering with an unblinking eye beneath the picture-perfect façades of suburbia, as revealed in his startling debut American Beauty (1999).
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet star as Frank and April Wheeler, instantly attracted to one another at a party, as an early flashback reveals, but now engaged some seven years later in constant combat. Their initial dreams and expectations have seemingly been flailed away and deserted as the malaise of ordinary suburban life has crept in, bogging them down in a mediocrity they both - but especially April - find hard to comprehend or accept.
We sense they’ve tried mending bridges many times before this night on which we first meet them, April having unflatteringly participated in a dreadful local play, underlining to both her failed dream of working in theatre. Frank has no idea of his true calling in life, slaving away at an office job assumed from his father at Knox Business Machines. But April offers a potentially marriage-saving brainstorm for the young family: relocate to Paris (a long-held infatuation of Frank's), where she can take advantage of a higher paying job whilst Frank “finds himself”, putting the pressures of his pointless, hated job aside for the sake of self-understanding.
Even the best laid plans come unstuck, so this half-baked ploy borne of intense unhappiness and desperation seems doomed to failure as soon as it leaves their mouths. Superficially they invoke a steely resolve, rhapsodically informing family and friends of their life-changing decision. But in the wake of a recent past of unconvincing, patchwork resolutions things begin to come unglued again as forces more influential than hope retake control of the couple’s destiny.
Revolutionary Road is likely to polarize audience with its relentless bleakness and the intensity of the friction between this smoldering, unhappy couple. Its most obvious reference point is Mike Nichols’ Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) in which Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton slugged it out in a hateful deconstruction of their married lives. Though missing the poisonous level of vitriol present in that film, Revolutionary Road still provides a devastating, searing portrait of a relationship in rapid decline, in which the only hope for survival may be escape.
DiCaprio gets better with each performance and his scorching portrayal of Frank may be his best yet. He leaves nothing between the lines and so many of the couple's exchanges provide electric tension. Winslet, on the other hand, seems to produce this level of acting with virtually every role now so it's no surprise to see the quality of her own nuanced performance. Both are damaged people, suffused with impotent rage, but totally believable and sympathetic.
Michael Shannon, so brilliant as the psychologically-disturbed ex-soldier in William Friedkin’s Bug (2006), produces another memorable performance as John Givings, the son of local realtor and annoying friend, Helen Givings (Kathy Bates). Though he’s only in two scenes, Shannon makes the most of every unhinged, withering line, providing a stark, painfully honest appraisal of Frank and April’s lives, garnered from just a few stray words and half-truths.
Roger Deakins once again provides peerless work behind the lens - unobtrusive but subtly invasive as his handheld cinematography in the latter stages of the film reveals a powerful, almost overwhelming sense of intimacy, blurring our boundaries between audience member and participant. We feel every bellow and scream, every reverberation of the couple’s drawn-out confrontations and Deakins is there to highlight the drama as emotions spiral out of control.
Though Thomas Newman’s plaintive score may seem a little repetitive with the constant reminder of his simple main theme, it tends to work like a mantra after a while, reinforcing the repetitive strain on Frank and April, hinting at what might tip them over to the point of breaking.
Intense, adult drama this fine is rare in American cinema these days and we should treasure the purity of Mendes’ vision for what it is – a faithful adaptation of a great work of literature, an uncompromising vision of a disintegrating marriage that fulfills its potential for gripping human drama. Mendes has succeeded magnificently in every way with this powerhouse of a film, completing an extraordinary trio of works on his imposing CV alongside American Beauty and Road to Perdition (2002).
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet star as Frank and April Wheeler, instantly attracted to one another at a party, as an early flashback reveals, but now engaged some seven years later in constant combat. Their initial dreams and expectations have seemingly been flailed away and deserted as the malaise of ordinary suburban life has crept in, bogging them down in a mediocrity they both - but especially April - find hard to comprehend or accept.
We sense they’ve tried mending bridges many times before this night on which we first meet them, April having unflatteringly participated in a dreadful local play, underlining to both her failed dream of working in theatre. Frank has no idea of his true calling in life, slaving away at an office job assumed from his father at Knox Business Machines. But April offers a potentially marriage-saving brainstorm for the young family: relocate to Paris (a long-held infatuation of Frank's), where she can take advantage of a higher paying job whilst Frank “finds himself”, putting the pressures of his pointless, hated job aside for the sake of self-understanding.
Even the best laid plans come unstuck, so this half-baked ploy borne of intense unhappiness and desperation seems doomed to failure as soon as it leaves their mouths. Superficially they invoke a steely resolve, rhapsodically informing family and friends of their life-changing decision. But in the wake of a recent past of unconvincing, patchwork resolutions things begin to come unglued again as forces more influential than hope retake control of the couple’s destiny.
Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Wheeler
Revolutionary Road is likely to polarize audience with its relentless bleakness and the intensity of the friction between this smoldering, unhappy couple. Its most obvious reference point is Mike Nichols’ Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) in which Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton slugged it out in a hateful deconstruction of their married lives. Though missing the poisonous level of vitriol present in that film, Revolutionary Road still provides a devastating, searing portrait of a relationship in rapid decline, in which the only hope for survival may be escape.
DiCaprio gets better with each performance and his scorching portrayal of Frank may be his best yet. He leaves nothing between the lines and so many of the couple's exchanges provide electric tension. Winslet, on the other hand, seems to produce this level of acting with virtually every role now so it's no surprise to see the quality of her own nuanced performance. Both are damaged people, suffused with impotent rage, but totally believable and sympathetic.
Kate Winslet as April Wheeler
Michael Shannon, so brilliant as the psychologically-disturbed ex-soldier in William Friedkin’s Bug (2006), produces another memorable performance as John Givings, the son of local realtor and annoying friend, Helen Givings (Kathy Bates). Though he’s only in two scenes, Shannon makes the most of every unhinged, withering line, providing a stark, painfully honest appraisal of Frank and April’s lives, garnered from just a few stray words and half-truths.
Roger Deakins once again provides peerless work behind the lens - unobtrusive but subtly invasive as his handheld cinematography in the latter stages of the film reveals a powerful, almost overwhelming sense of intimacy, blurring our boundaries between audience member and participant. We feel every bellow and scream, every reverberation of the couple’s drawn-out confrontations and Deakins is there to highlight the drama as emotions spiral out of control.
Michael Shannon is unforgettable in two sequences as John Givings
Though Thomas Newman’s plaintive score may seem a little repetitive with the constant reminder of his simple main theme, it tends to work like a mantra after a while, reinforcing the repetitive strain on Frank and April, hinting at what might tip them over to the point of breaking.
Intense, adult drama this fine is rare in American cinema these days and we should treasure the purity of Mendes’ vision for what it is – a faithful adaptation of a great work of literature, an uncompromising vision of a disintegrating marriage that fulfills its potential for gripping human drama. Mendes has succeeded magnificently in every way with this powerhouse of a film, completing an extraordinary trio of works on his imposing CV alongside American Beauty and Road to Perdition (2002).
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Comment by Anonymous
Quatro
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
Will be trying to track down Jarhead soon to see if I like it as much as you.................and to prove that Mendes really can do no wrong!!
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Look forward to reading your review on Jarhead - if u don't find it let me know - can post u it as a loader on dvd.
L8erzzzzzz
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
bleakness in cinema is hard to jump into, but can be delicious when savoured..
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
I can't get enough of this type of bleakness Cib, but that's my problem! (;
Deakins has been such a master of his craft for a long time now hasn't he? His work for the Coen brothers has just been the tip of the iceberg.