American Beauty And Two Beasts
Written: Feb 28 '09 (Updated Feb 28 '09)
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Interesting look at fifties life; performances of Bates and Shannon
Cons: I had little sympathy for the lead characters
The Bottom Line: Certain roads were less traveled - once upon a time.
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| pmills1210's Full Review: Revolutionary Road |
"Revolutionary Road" takes a look at a way of life that has become familiar. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet star as Frank and April Wheeler, an unhappily married couple in 1955 suburban Connecticut. Frank works in New York in a thankless job at the same business where his father worked. April is his wife, for better and - mostly - for worse. When Frank turns thirty, April hatches a plan to get them out of their marital rut. They will move to Paris, a city he loves, and she will get a good job that will support their family.
Nothing goes as planned. First, April learns she's pregnant with their third child. Second, Frank does something that so impresses a client, that the client, computer firm owner Bart Pollack (Jay O. Sanders) offers him a job with a big pay raise. Third, both Frank and April are unfaithful, and April, regardless of what transpires, doesn't want another baby. Each ponders actions which would be considered drastic in their day, but long ago became a fixture in the American way of living.
"Revolutionary Road," which is based on a 1961 novel by Richard Yates, is an interesting look at life in suburbia with unappealing lead characters. All of the theatrical films from Sam Mendes, to date, have a common thread. Each has characters that want the unattainable, and never think that if they ever reach the ideals they set, it will not improve their lives. Frank and April married because she became pregnant, and it was the so-called right thing to do. Unlike Lester Burnham, the anti-hero of "American Beauty," Frank and April wallow in misery and hurt each other almost ceaselessly. The people who know the Wheelers are much more interesting, especially Helen Givings (Kathy Bates), the local realtor who treats every buyer like family, especially the Wheelers, and her son John (Michael Shannon), a troubled individual who always speaks his mind. John's the only one who doesn't believe their moving plans aren't a bit of a joke. Bates and Shannon are primarily responsible for giving this film any life. DiCaprio and Winslet are fine, too, but they are stuck with characters who generate more irritation than sympathy. Things don't go well, and I couldn't care less.
"Revolutionary Road" may have been revolutionary in its time, but not anymore. Mendes shows that suburban angst was prevalent long before "American Beauty." His case, though, was better stated in his Oscar-winning debut from 1999. The Wheelers may have met at the end of one war, but they found themselves living another one, waiting for a miracle that was never going to happen. Sadly, everybody around them knew they made unrealistic plans. The saddest part is that they thought their plans would result in any sort of happily ever after.
(An Epinions Lean & Mean review)
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Serious Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Duration
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Epinions.com ID:
pmills1210
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Member: Pat Mills
Location: East Chicago, In.
Reviews written: 948
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"Nothing in moderation." - Ernie Kovacs. Read and enjoy!
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