Revolutionary Road (2008)

Director Sam Mendes had his hands full with Revolutionary Road. Based on the novel by Richard Yates, this drama takes place in the mid-1950’s, where all the men commuted from the suburbs to work wearing suits and ties and of course hats. The women stayed at home, cooked and cleaned in heels and cared for the children. That was the way of life. That is what was expected. What wasn’t expected was the Wheeler’s. They were Frank and April (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) and their two children. They fit the status quo perfectly. The young couple lived in the suburbs in Connecticut. Frank worked in the city and April cared for the kids and their house on Revolutionary Road, but something wasn’t quite right. They were unhappy in their marriage and with their lives and April was determined to fix it. After lying to each other and to themselves, April had a plan. A plan to move to Paris, somewhere Frank had been and once loved and longed to go back to. April would work at a government agency as a secretary and Frank would take time off and figure out what he really loved to do. They had been struggling with themselves for too long and this seemed like the answer, but there was an unexpected bump in the road. April became pregnant further trying the bonds of their marriage. Was going to Paris the best idea anymore? Would she keep the baby so they could go, or would Frank take a recent promotion he was offered at the company? Frank and April struggle to find themselves and find the love they once had.
The soundtrack and musical composition and selection of this film were moving. The end title especially, Revolutionary Road, was musically sound and aesthetically pleasing. Thomas Newman is an incredible composer. There is nothing worse than watching a movie and noticing that the background music doesn’t suit the scene you are watching. When something sad is happening you don’t want to hear upbeat sounds, you want to hear minor chords and soft music.  Newman hit the nail on the head with this one. 
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The performances by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio were none other than superior. Don’t expect a powerful love story as we saw in their performance in Titanic, but rather a real life tale of the confounds of marriage. We already know they have chemistry together and they are both phenomenal actors so they had a high standard to live up to and it was met. There are scenes of love and hate, deception and honesty, and anger and happiness. They covered all the spectrums and had to play each and every one with passion and commitment and did so perfectly.
This is great movie to put it simply, made from a great story. I find some of the best movies come from great books. I recommend it to anyone who likes real dramas with real situations and real endings. This movie wouldn’t be understood by the young but most adults would find it moving. I give it 4.5 stars.