In case you hadn't heard, life in the American suburbs during the 1950s was stultifying if not downright repressive, with husbands resenting the rat race, and wives feeling lonely, unfulfilled, and desperate. Brain-dead zombies, these suburbanites dutifully went through the motions of being good parents and exemplary citizens while secretly longing for adventure and romance, and if some people (your parents, for example) seemed happy, they were obviously faking it. In Revolutionary Road, Sam Mendes' (American Beauty) cinematic indictment of middle-class American life adapted from Richard Yates' 1961 novel, newlyweds Frank and April Wheeler (reunited Titanic costars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) move from Manhattan to the ‘burbs, promptly have two kids, and eventually drive themselves to the brink of despair because It's All Just So Damned Awful. Several thwarted plans and extramarital affairs later, the pair finally confront their oh-so-sad situation—but is it too late? Douglas Sirk, that old master of domestic melodrama, couldn't have come up with anything more pathetically hand-wringing than this scrupulously well made and brilliantly acted film, which gleaned favorable reviews from mostly urban-based critics persuaded by the “truth” of Mendes' vision. Sure to split viewers—some will love it, others will deem the film arty, pretentious twaddle—Revolutionary Road is recommended, overall. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Sam Mendes and screenwriter Justin Haythe, a half-hour “Lives of Quiet Desperation” making-of featurette, deleted scenes (10 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the featurette “Richard Yates: The Wages of Truth” on the author (26 min.). Bottom line: a solid extras package for a suburban drama that split critics.] (E. Hulse)
Revolutionary Road
Paramount, 118 min., R, DVD: $30.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, June 2 Volume 24, Issue 3
Revolutionary Road
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