Revolutionary Road (2008)

An Intelligent Premise Gone Bad

Revolutionary Road is a film where men last less than 30 seconds and women would be content with even 3 because they always have more pressing issues. For most of them it's the daily humdrum of suburban life while for April Wheeler, it's the continuous effort to find a way to start living the life she had envisioned for herself when she fell in love and got married. For this cause, she is even willing to work herself, take the responsibility to look after the family and give her husband, Frank, the time he needs to figure out what he really wants to do with his life. All she wants is to abandon their current lifestyle for good. Being a salesman at Knox and taking the train to work every morning like dozens of other men in suits and fedora hats (visualized beautifully in one of the film's most worthwhile scenes), Frank shares April's aspiration for a better, but more importantly, an exciting life that to them seems possible only beyond American suburbia. He is more than happy to cooperate. For a while at least.

This is a married couple who have pinned all their hopes and ambitions to Paris for no apparent reason, save for the rumor that they paid crazy amounts for secretarial jobs in government agencies in Europe; a rumor which they conveniently never question. For all we know, they might be choosing that specific city over dozens of others just because its name radiates a romantic and adventurous feel. When their exasperation is so extreme, there is no time for reasoning. They are so busy trying to get out that they have no time to plan where to get in once they do.

The fact that 'things' get in the way of all their plans is probably both favorable and not. It's good because once faced with the impossible amount of complications brought along, they wake up from their dreams of a blind date with Paris. But it's also a misfortune because everything happens after this point further accentuates their dysfunction as a couple. One of the film's rare accomplishments is to show us, at this point, that none of the parties in this family is solely responsible from everything they go through - they are simply not right for each other, as is most often the case in real life.

It's the lighthearted feel-bad movie of the year where dreams are made impossible by life itself. It becomes apparent with this film that director Sam Mendes of American Beauty is not at all done with American suburbia, whether it be the one we witness today or the one that our parents did years ago. This is fine, but the problem is, there are countless other films (Little Children, Edward Scissorhands, The Stepford Wives and its remake) and TV Shows (Weeds, Desperate Housewives) that address the same issue, either through parody or critique. Needless to say, all of the examples I have listed do an excellent job, both intellectually and aesthetically (except for later seasons of Desperate Housewives) and if one wants to tackle the same subject again, he/she must be able to top them. Or at least should hit a different note and provide us with something that hasn't already been done numerous times before. In this aspect, Revolutionary Road has nothing to offer.

Substantial problems in details further sink Revolutionary Road. First of such flaws is the fact that the film is drowned in overtly theatrical and disturbingly descriptive monologues; mostly reserved for Kate Winslet to make her appear more Oscar-worthy (but hey, it worked for the Golden Globes). Throughout these monologues, the whole point of the film (which I believe I was able to summarize quite exhaustively in the few paragraphs above) is repeated over and over again to a point that it loses its meaning and significance. Here is one of such monologues to refresh your memory:

No Frank, this is what's unrealistic. It's unrealistic for a man with a fine mind to go on working, year after year, at a job he can't stand; coming home to a place he can't stand; to a wife who is equally unable to stand the same things. Do you want to know the worst part? Our whole existence here is based on this great premise that we're... special and superior to the whole thing. But we're not! We're just like everyone else! Look at us; we've bought into the same ridiculous delusion; this idea that you have to resign from life and settle down the moment you have children. And we've been punishing each other for it.

Here is another jewel of a monologue about truth:

Why not? I don't need everything we have here; I don't care where we live. I mean, who made these rules anyway? Look, the only reason we moved out here was because I got pregnant. Then we had another child to prove the first one wasn't a mistake. I mean, how long does it go on?! Frank? Do you actually want another child? Well do you? Come on, tell me. Tell me the truth Frank! Remember that? We used to live by it. And you know what's so good about the truth? Everyone knows what it is, however long they've lived without it. No one forgets the truth Frank, they just get better at lying. So tell me, do you really want another child?

Come to think of it, this was the exact scene shown to the audience when Winslet's name was announced as a nominee in tonight's SAG awards. So I guess the fish bit the hook in this one.

If you are going to tell word by word what the movie is all about, then it is my humble opinion that you don't need to make the movie itself. If I'm going to be treated like a little kid in an elementary school, if the writer is so obsessed in making me understand his subject matter that he makes his characters describe themselves to the audience and if an inanimate object can draw the same conclusions from the movie as I do, than that movie is nothing more than a waste of two precious hours from one's life.

Not only the monologues but everything else in the film, every discussion, every argument, every single excitement and tension boils down to the same theme of 'living the life one wants' as opposed to what he/she is forced to. It's a powerful theme but the best way to cultivate it would be either to expand it (like Little Children did) or deepen it (like American Beauty) as opposed to keep repeating a single tagline. It is for this reason that I believe Revolutionary Road would've worked a lot better as a 15-minute short film and -needless to say- this is never a good sign for a full-length motion picture.

Another flaw I can think on the top of my head is the overtly theatrical lines/moments which distract the audience from the intensity of this could-be-real story. Here is an example...

(Frank discovers the rubber tubes and explodes)

Frank: Listen to me, you do this April, you do this and I swear to god...
April: What? You'll leave me? Is that a threat or a promise?

... and another one:

(John Givings, played by Oscar-nominated Michael Shannon, drops by with his mother Helen and father Howard to meet the Wheelers. Helen, who is obviously at unease with her son's extreme inquisitiveness and inappropriate questions, walks up to the window and tries changing the subject)

John: See, I've got a good many questions to ask and I'm willing to pay for the answers. Now I don't need to be told that a man who goes after his mother with a coffee table is putting himself in a weak position legally, that's obvious.
Helen: John, come have a look out this fabulous picture window!
John: If he hits her with it and kills her, that's a criminal case.
Helen: Oh look, the sun is coming out!
John: If all he does is break the coffee table and give her a certain amount of aggravation and she decides to go to court over it, that's a civil case.
Helen: Maybe we'll have a rainbow! John, come have a look!

Theatricalities like these work for certain films but certain films only. Revolutionary Road is not one of them.

While we are on the subject of John Givings, allow me to say that both his character and his performance is the most pathetic way to try to appear smart, unexpected and interesting. The mentally challenged ex math doctor is the least expected person to understand the complexity of the given situation yet -big surprise- it's no one but him who puts his finger on what's fundamentally wrong with the Wheeler family! In the 'look how smartly written and brilliantly acted this character is and be impressed by him' dinner sequence towards the end, he misfires even when delivering the powerful line: "I'm glad I'm not gonna be that kid". Yet it's the Academy this time to take the bait and before you know it, he is nominated for an Oscar in the supporting actor category which, by the way, has no sign of Ralph Fiennes's career-defining performance in The Duchess. It's one of those many instances when one tends to believe that AMPAS has no credibility left at all (But that's such a typical to say nowadays, isn't it?)

As for other performances, I can easily say that Winslet does her best with the lines she is given but Leonardo DiCaprio, whose ambitious transformation from a teenage heartthrob into a serious actor I had been admiring for a while, is completely lost in his role as the loving yet tenacious, aggressive and predictable husband who is constantly fighting for dominance and control. Not that there is anything significant that he's doing wrong but his presence is faint and insubstantial. Some roles are not good for certain actors and I guess this was one of such roles for Leo. The rest of the cast is just the way they're supposed to be - decent enough.

All in all, Revolutionary Road is built on a admirable premise but is a wasted opportunity merely because of the BAFTA-nominated screenplay. The fundamental flaws in its execution makes me unable to fully absorb a lot of its strengths, such as the incredibly intense and nerve-shattering breakfast sequence at the end where you immediately sense that something is terribly wrong but can't put your finger on it. It's the deep breath before the plunge. And it is one of those moments where the extent of Kate Winslet's talents become most apparent. To find the perfect balance between greatly disturbing and perfectly normal is not a job everybody can pull off.

4/10

Note: This article is a part of the 2008 awards season review series which will be the primary feature of The Long Take until the Oscar Night. The information below will be updated as listed awards are handed out and more nominations are announced.

Nominated For:

• Best Achievement in Art Direction (Kristi Zea & Debra Schutt) - Academy Awards
  
• Best Achievement in Costume Design (Albert Wolsky) - Academy Awards
  
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Michael Shannon) - Academy Awards

• Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases (Roger Deakins) - American Society of Cinematographers

• Best Costume Design (Albert Wolsky) - BAFTA Awards
  
• Best Leading Actress (Kate Winslet) - BAFTA Awards
  
• Best Production Design (Kristi Zea & Debra Schutt) - BAFTA Awards
  
• Best Adapted Screenplay (Justin Haythe) - BAFTA Awards

• Best Supporting Actor (Michael Shannon) - Chicago Film Critics Association

• Excellence in Costume Design for Film (Albert Wolsky) - Costume Designers Guild Awards

• Best Director, Motion Picture (Sam Mandes) - Golden Globes
  
• Best Motion Picture, Drama - Golden Globes
  
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama (Leonardo DiCaprio) - Golden Globes

• Actress of the Year (Kate Winslet) - London Critics Circle Film Awards
  
• British Actress of the Year (Kate Winslet) - London Critics Circle Film Awards

• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role (Kate Winslet) - Screen Actors Guild Awards
  

Won:

• Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama (Kate Winslet) - Golden Globes

• Best Actress (Kate Winslet) - Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards