How was this movie get denied for a Best Picture nod at the Oscars? It was one of the best movies of the year if not in the last five years. This movie is shot beautifully, acted well and writing with precision and is hard hitting. I know this mellow dram is not for everyone I understand but I love it and find it a film masterpiece.Another terrible decision for the Oscars was not even nominating Kate Winslet for this movie. This was a great acting performance. She feels so real and you can truly feel her pain and agony of being stuck in suburbia. She portrays a women who is cold and unlikable so well it is unbelievable. You also feel strongly for her husband played by the versatile Leo Dicaprio. You feel the pain of not being loved by the person who he still has extreme feelings for. The struggle he feels as he gives up his dream because he realizes that he has responsibilities and that his Wife cannot understand this. They both play so well off each other that you truly buy into the situation. They fill the situations in their suburban smear with extreme tension and hate. Kathy Bates portrays a women who has completely bought into the suburban dream. She loves things only to be the way they should be, the grass and inch long and the couples lovable. She is an incredible actress and it is no difference in this picture. The secondary character that really steals the scenes he is in is Micheal Shannon. The relatively unknown actor plays the psychotic math genius John Givens. His mannerism are perfect and he truly steals the scenes he is in as he carefully breaks apart and analyzes the couple's dream. He is simply spell binding in it and is a severely underrated actor. Many comparisons people are making are to the late Heath Ledger in his performance as the Joker. I can defiantly see it. I find that Micheal Shannon almost outshines him though. There is not an actor/actress out of place in this film and it truly shows.
This was also one of the most beautifully crafted movies of the year. The scenes in the car after the play in the first ten minutes are mind blowing. They are so dark and portray the breakdown of their marriage perfectly. The suburban house shots are shot beautifully perfectly portray the 50's suburban life. The lighting is flat out amazing. The close in shots of the couple eating breakfast after April's breakdown is simply stunning. You could cut the tension with a knife and the shot selection defiantly helps portray this.The art direction is just stunning. It's no wonder it was nominated for the Oscar. Also the sound was absolutely brilliant. There would be no music in some scenes such as the breakfast after April's meltdown and it rose the tension even more. While it some parts it had the same little sound loop playing which was perfect in it's place.
A great part about this film is also it's way that it is able to split so many different people on it. Some people believe April to be in the wrong and others Frank. This is what makes a true film great. There is not an easy answer to this question so it opens it up for multiple viewings and plenty of discussion. I find April to be in the wrong in this one though. She manipulates, and twists Frank until he nothing but a broken shell of a man. She blames him for her not becoming an actress and living and adventure filled life but truly it is no ones fault but her own. She has a complete breakdown and in the end just ends up torturing Frank until he literally is cracked and broken beyond repair. Of course Frank is not without his faults. He is unable to truly break free from the so called "American Dream" and is unable to truly live. Truly though would the situation have been fixed in Paris? No. April could just no longer stand Frank because she see him as the reason for her pitiful existence in the drab suburbs, being a housewife just like every other woman on the block. You can defiantly see where April is coming from though. Also another strong point of discussion brought up was abortion*Spoiler* was the abortion justified? I truly believe it was. The child was not conceived through love and would have grown up in a poisonous environment. The home they made is no place for a young child. It would not be loved in that household. Therefore it should not be brought into it. It truly was a noble thing that April did.
A sequence that truly did stand out for me as portray the suburbs for me was after the entire Wheeler breakdown no one wanted to talk about it. The Campell's, their best friends in the neighbourhood just wanted to forget it ever happened. After the meltdown they just find another couple and after discussing the Wheelers for two minutes Shep can stand it no longer and demands that they stop talking about them. Also when Kathy Bates' character is discussing it with her husband simply turns his hearing aid off drowning her out and us out as well.
We truly feel for the Wheeler's marriage. This is because of superbly potent and precise writing. It is truly a raw look into the "American Dream" and into a marriage that is crumbling from the top down. The characters are less just characters in a script but feel like your own family, friends or neighbours. People who truly cannot stand each other but stay together for face sake. That is where the film truly rocks you. It is almost too real. You do not want to see these characters tortured emotionally like they are but at the same time that is what makes a film great. It is an amazingly crafted view of a suburban prison and it's effects on it's inmates.
Some people are making comparisons to Sam Mendes' other film American Dream and that is fair. They both deal with suburban zombies and the effect the "American Dream" can have on you. It in no way should affect the way you see this film though. This movie as great as American Beauty is cannot hold up to this movie.
Truly a great American movie(finally) open for many viewings(also rare among American made movies.) A perfect viewing of a "perfect" marriage destructing from the inside and with it the "American Dream" crumbles behind it. This film is not for everyone as it can be hard to watch and for some may be over dramatic. I found it however to be a perfect melodramatic balance. Never relying too much on it's melodrama to grasp at your heart strings but is filled with raw, real emotions which give you an immense feeling for the characters of Revolutionary Road.
-89 A
-Hutz
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