'Road' leads to tears
By Bruce R. Miller | Posted: Friday, December 19, 2008
If "Titanic" was a classic love story, then "Revolutionary Road" is a classic falling-out-of-love story.
With Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (those ill-fated "Titanic" lovers) in the lead, the hurt is even sharper, the pain, deeper.
Initially, they're a typical suburban couple in the '50s. To quell their boredom, she suggests they move to Paris. He's tired of his desk job; she wants something more than a white picket fence. They make plans to chuck it all and, then, he's tempted with a promotion.
Should he discard everything if he's in line for something big?
She's insistent. And then, she learns she's pregnant.
Director Sam Mendes finds the little jabs that grow into big scars. He guides both actors into tragic moves and points to an ending that's as shocking as the one in "House of Sand and Fog."
While "Revolutionary Road" isn't easy to embrace, it's impossible to ignore. The story could be anyone's -- given the circumstances. The consequences come from the choices that are made.
Winslet is spectacular. She captures the woman's restlessness. She taps into the hurt. DiCaprio doesn't seem the right age to play this much angst but he does rise to the challenge when Winslet's around. They're not quite "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf's" George and Martha, but they do know how to press buttons. Both wear the "Mad Men" conceit well.
And Mendes? He knows hate (remember "American Beauty"?) and consequences. Perhaps his best character is a young man who's said to be mentally ill. His mother (the efficient Kathy Bates) foists him upon the couple and, immediately, he becomes a fulcrum. Pushing the discord to another level, he says what no one else will. Michael Shannon plays the character fearlessly, taking chances where others wouldn't.
When Mendes gets his tightly wound rope untwisted, "Revolutionary Road" becomes a path to inevitability. It stings. But it's such a good character study it deserves any awards attention it gets. DiCaprio is fine. But Winslet is even better. This could be the role that wins her the elusive Oscar.
Rated R, "Revolutionary Road" features profanity and brief nudity.
On a scale of four stars, it gets:
3 1/2 stars
With Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (those ill-fated "Titanic" lovers) in the lead, the hurt is even sharper, the pain, deeper.
Initially, they're a typical suburban couple in the '50s. To quell their boredom, she suggests they move to Paris. He's tired of his desk job; she wants something more than a white picket fence. They make plans to chuck it all and, then, he's tempted with a promotion.
Should he discard everything if he's in line for something big?
She's insistent. And then, she learns she's pregnant.
Director Sam Mendes finds the little jabs that grow into big scars. He guides both actors into tragic moves and points to an ending that's as shocking as the one in "House of Sand and Fog."
While "Revolutionary Road" isn't easy to embrace, it's impossible to ignore. The story could be anyone's -- given the circumstances. The consequences come from the choices that are made.
Winslet is spectacular. She captures the woman's restlessness. She taps into the hurt. DiCaprio doesn't seem the right age to play this much angst but he does rise to the challenge when Winslet's around. They're not quite "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf's" George and Martha, but they do know how to press buttons. Both wear the "Mad Men" conceit well.
And Mendes? He knows hate (remember "American Beauty"?) and consequences. Perhaps his best character is a young man who's said to be mentally ill. His mother (the efficient Kathy Bates) foists him upon the couple and, immediately, he becomes a fulcrum. Pushing the discord to another level, he says what no one else will. Michael Shannon plays the character fearlessly, taking chances where others wouldn't.
When Mendes gets his tightly wound rope untwisted, "Revolutionary Road" becomes a path to inevitability. It stings. But it's such a good character study it deserves any awards attention it gets. DiCaprio is fine. But Winslet is even better. This could be the role that wins her the elusive Oscar.
Rated R, "Revolutionary Road" features profanity and brief nudity.
On a scale of four stars, it gets:
3 1/2 stars
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