Revolutionary Road – DVD Review

By June L. Jun 15, 2009, 11:11 GMT

More than a decade after sharing the screen in the record-breaking Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet reunite for this adaptation of Richard Yates\'s novel. This drama about a married couple in the 1950s is directed by Winslet\'s husband, Oscar winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition). ...more

“Abandon hope all ye who enter here,” is part of the inscription on the gate to Hell in Dante’s Divine Comedy.  This should be the tag line for Revolutionary Road. 

Not that it isn’t well cast, acted to perfection and carefully filmed, it is all of these, but this movie is as depressing as the location of the above mentioned line from Dante.

A friend and I were discussing what must have been the attitudes and moods of those who went to see Revolutionary Road as a date movie and with no forewarning as to the story.  The stars cast as a married couple, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, would have led people to expect something romantic.  And, well, romantic is probably the last word anyone who sees this film would use to describe it.

How many came away from the theater depressed by the story, upset that they had spent the ticket amount only to have their date sobbing hysterically, and not the kind of tears that could be assuaged by vows of undying love. 

Revolutionary Road is an excellent portrait of self destruction.  The Wheelers, Frank and April are on a path to ruin, and no one and nothing can change their fate.  Based on a best selling novel by Richard Yates, and set in the 1950’s, there was a chance that this film could look like a parody of drama from that era. 

It is to the credit of all involved that it is such a strong and convincing work of art.  Leo DiCaprio is Frank Wheeler, and as things happen to him, we know exactly what he is feeling.  Whether or not Frank has the audience’s sympathy is not the purpose, it is simply the chronicle of destruction. 

Kate Winslet is flawless in her portrayal of April, drawing the audience deeper and deeper in to her depression and desperate attempts to break free of a normalcy that she sees as constricting her greater purpose in life.

Revolutionary Road is presented on single disc in widescreen format with a running time of 118 minutes.  It has both audio and subtitles in English, French and Spanish. 

The special features that come with the disc are most interesting.  There is a film commentary with Director Sam Mendes, and Screenwriter Justin Haythe that is illuminating on many levels.  Deleted scenes are incuded, with optional commentary by the Director and Screeewriter. 

Finally there is a featurette appropriately titled “Lives of Quiet Desperation” The Making of Revolutionary Road that explores some of the vision and purpose behind the filming of the story, as well as working with a 1950’s era look for the background and action. 

The movie is rated R, and maybe should have Rx somewhere in the rating, as if you are not into being tortured by art, or if you have trouble letting go of tragic circumstances, continuing to ponder them for days after seeing a movie, you may need prozac or at least a good bottle of wine to get over this film and move on.  Still it is brilliantly done, and with such perfection that grief aside, it could be studied as a pattern for dramatic filming of past times.

Revolutionary Road is now available at Amazon. It is available at AmazonUK for a June 29th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.