REVOLUTIONARY ROAD 3.5+**** (almost 4***) This is a superb dark, disquieting drama about a troubled marriage with two awesome performances by Kate Winslet and Leonardo De Caprio. It is set in the 1950s in the typical suburbs of some typical big city with the typical family of four living in the typical nice suburban home on the typical shady street named Revolutionary Road. The problem for Frank and April is that their relationship started off as anything but typical…there was the excitement and wonder of a special love with all the extraordinary thrill and sizzle that goes with it.. There were also dreams of not being “typical”…of finding and living a life full of challenges and rewards. But, after marriage, two kids, a dull but adequate job and the move to the typical suburbs, the sizzle fades and the dreams get lost. Life has become a dull, empty routine…”typical” . This realization causes April to initiate an effort to rekindle the dreams and save their relationship and at first Frank is all for it . But, reality slowly returns with an unplanned pregnancy and a nice job promotion for Frank. He begins to question and reevaluate , and decides to back off . April is shocked and intensely disappointed to the point of becoming embittered and heartbroken which leads to deeply hurtful and highly emotional confrontations with Frank..

DiCaprio and Winslet nailed their characters. Both of them were phenomenal. The facial expressions, the gestures and the line delivery were all perfectly spot on. DiCaprio was excellent. He grasped the character perfectly and nailed every scene.

Kate Winslet is just breathtaking. I thought she was naturally subtle and haunting from beginning to end. But, in the second half of the movie she elevates her performance to a rarified level of excellence that both awed me on the one hand and haunted me on the other. Winslet shows layers of herself that I've never seen before, expressions on her face that I haven't seen before…she performs way beyond mere words as does De Caprio. The two of them together was even more powerful. Their chemistry was so smooth and perfect. Their interactions during the arguments were quite bone chilling and haunting.


This movie is not one that everyone will want to see. It isn't one that everyone will get or even WANT to get….. it is not your “typical” Hollywood fare. This movie will tear out the heart those who have been in a relationship that starts to go sour and were powerless to stop it. You try everything to halt the inevitable train wreck you see coming but yet, it still ends in a fiery crash and you stand and wonder how your life could end up that way. Frank and April are on this train and you’ll have to see the movie to find out whether they’ll able to hop off before the wreck.

Clark