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For perhaps an hour, "Revolutionary Road" appears headed

Posted by tinear (A) on January 26, 2009 at 17:24:21

to being the best film of the year.
And then..... SPOILER!.... it goes off the tracks by having the heroine involved in one of the current American social red-button issues with a resolution which is tidy and moral, in the worst Hollywood sense.
There is another gaping problem with the film, namely the shock that Winslet's character not only never has loved her husband but that, indeed, she thoroughly loathes and hates him. Now, there intrinsically is nothing wrong with this and it has been a dramatic staple of melodramas forl centuries. But Mendes, the director, sabotages his film by not showing either the great faults DiCaprio's character possesses to warrant this immense wifely rage or the reasons his wife keeps such explosiveness hidden for eight years (or so).
Leonardo is quite good but he has a penchant for scenery chewing: flailing around with his arms, caterwauling, and wildly gesturing and moving about to express his emotions. It almost seems he's pantomiming a silent film performance. That's too bad because, in the less emotional moments of the film he shows effortlessness, quieter intensity, and depth.
Winslet's performance is of good quality, as usual, but what can she do when the most important parts of her character are missing?
This is all a tragedy because the film seemed like it was going to be a good commentary or at least exploration on one of modern man's most important questions: are money and career really worth the sacrifices which one must make for success or should one pursue a more original, much more challenging and singular path?
Unfortunately, after careful presentation of this question, Mendes walks away from it.

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