Ryan McNeil
Note: Review is condensed down from usual length – RM
Society’s sales pitch says that once we all get married, have a child or two, and buy ourselves a nice home in the ‘burbs, we’ll be complete. Unfortunately for some, that sort of life isn’t enough. They want to be more than just “The Wheelers at 502”. The problem is, that more often than not, people don’t realize that they want more than this until it’s too late and they’re already hip-deep in this sort of life. It’s these people who end up making some truly bad decisions.
I should start by saying, that this is not the movie to watch if you’re having a rough day – I promise you, all it will do is bum you out further. That said, this movie is an amazing story of some very damaged people. Chances are you know somebody like DiCaprio’s young executive, Frank, or Winslet’s demure housewife, April. What REVOLUTIONARY ROAD will leave you wondering, is whether or not these people you know are hiding some feeling deep down of claustrophobia or restlessness. It’s amazing to think that this story was written in 1961, and still seems just as pointed today. So many couples still crash into love thinking the world is their oyster. What happens when eight or nine years pass, and find that the world has offered them no pearls…just an empty shell?
This movie is Winslet’s show. She spends almost every scene with an expression that just barely hides the fact that she wants to burst into tears so often. What’s worse, is how she continues to make one bad decision after another. Strangely, the audience isn’t disgusted by her logic – in fact, she leaves them feeling so much sorrier for her. While Winslet’s performance is heartbreaking – and yes, Oscar-worthy – someone else comes damned close to stealing the show. Michael Shannon has a small, but very memorable role as John Givings; the mentally challenged son of Frank & April’s realtor. While his therapy has left him rather socially awkward, what it has achieved is giving John a knack for being brutally blunt, and viciously accurate. His scenes are few, but he makes the most of them and says things to The Wheelers that no one else has the guts to point out…no even The Wheelers themselves.
I fully believe that REVOLUTIONARY ROAD will go down as one of the most underrated films of 2008. It’s a rare tale of broken desires, and unfulfilled lives. A film-going friend of mine recently noted on her blog that if you’re not happy now, you never will be. This film is a picture window that looks into the lives of some very unhappy people. People who despite their big talk, and big plans, might well have never been happy.
You couldn’t be more right. The most underrated film of 2008.