Revolutionary Road : Movie Review

Long overdue review...saw this film while I was in Manila a couple of weeks ago but am just getting around to reviewing it now.. not that I have been too busy or too indifferent about the film -- more like, I was totally shaken by it that I had to see it again just to reaffirm all the feelings felt while watching it the first time. Revolutionary Road , I warn you, is not a very joyful film, nor is it easy to watch. But it is a MUST SEE not only if you are fans of the TITANIC duo, but also because the movie is simply entertaining. It achieves what not many films these days do. touches you, questions you, and pull you into the characters' lives.

Sam Mendes' of American Beauty fame strikes GOLD again with his film adaptation of a great American novel - faithful, intelligent, and superbly cast... If I was not a fan of Leonardo then, I sure am now.... He delivered on the acting promise he showed with Blood Diamond...and Kate Winslet, who recently just won an OSCAR is robbed as she should ahve been NOMINATED and WIN for this particular film... certainly one of the most talented actresses of today, Winslet continually surprises us all with her various film outings -- here, she surprises me in a whole other way. Here she is silent, unlikeable, emotionally close to the edge of insanity, sometimes cold, and all very human portrayal of April Wheeler is one of the best performances of the decade by her, or by anyone. Truly deserving of an Oscar.

This film truly benefits from the amazing direction by Sam Mendes. He comes back with strong, after American Beauty, with this project. The writing is sooo top notch, with both of the main characters, Frank and April Wheeler, so open, so alive -- such 3-dimensional characters. The film let us inside their lives, and it does so with great passion. The film itself is so beautiful, so alive, yet at the same time, so dark to what the film is about. Even the music, the original score, is so unsettling, perfectly balanced to what each scene brought.

Revolutionary Road is not a film for everyone. I can definitely see some audiences hating it, especially those who love to see happy endings, but it should certainly be respected -- for its ambition, for the things it accomplishes and every thing it portrays. This could very well be Sam Mendes' major masterpiece... and one that will forever be embedded in the minds of those who gets to see the film.