Movie Review: Revolutionary Road

What do Henry David Thoreau, Pink Floyd, and Revolutionary Road have in common? They all caution us against living lives of “quiet desperation.”
Thoreau said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.”
Despite all the histrionics and shouting and banging of furniture, the possibly most painful scene comes near the end of the movie as Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April (Kate Winslet) share an epically awkward breakfast. They talk but they don’t talk about anything. They make their mouths work only to avoid an even more painful silence. This interaction comes after nearly two hours of Talking and April begging Frank to just stop all the Talking and before a devastating conclusion played out largely without the wordiness that characterizes the majority of the movie. Frank and April keep trying to Talk but never can. But they can always “talk” to their neighbors or friendly real estate lady, glossing over the real issues in that familiar 50s, Leave it to Beaver dialogue of recipes, weather, and pleasantry. We often see Frank poring over a pocket French phrase book. See, Frank and April are moving to Paris. Along with the new scenery, they actually need a new language to talk to each other. Although Frank wants to learn French, his messages to his wife are already getting lost in translation.
I have not read the book upon which the movie is based, but I can imagine the challenges of adaptation. How could all the internal thoughts, feelings, and slow growth and breakdown of the central characters play out in a dramatic way? The screenwriter did a perfect job of crafting dialogue that, even while filled with Big Ideas, still rang true as actual dialogue. The screaming matches give the audience the Big Themes, but the real story is in the little details, the tiniest word or flicker of eyes that give the audience the real insight into the characters and the real sea of troubles that boils away just below the surface.
Both Frank and April are intensely unlikeable—selfish, unrealistic, and narcissistic. Both Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are absolutely perfect. DiCaprio manages to portray a brutal sense of self-loathing and disgust with himself even under his open hostility. Kate Winslet does both the explosions, going from 0 to 60 in two seconds, and the slow breakdowns, collapsing in silent tears in front of the sink, equally well. A rich tapestry of characters actors surround them, and each one feels like they come with a completely drawn backstory: the neighbor secretly in love with April, the real estate agent whose perkiness hides a deep trauma, and the bloated middle management guy made for the 1950s.
The most intriguing Big Idea for me was how Frank, and even more so April, believed that they were “special” or destined for something great. Tolstoy said that happy families are happy in the same way, but unhappy families are unhappy in different ways. We can imagine all the different ways of unhappiness for couples like Frank and April, but they seem to think that their unhappiness is somehow special and unusual. Even from watching “Mad Men,” we know that Frank and April have no reservation on unhappiness in the 50s. Their despair springs not necessarily from their lives themselves, but from the fact that their lives have not fulfilled their expectations. They were special, and now they find themselves living a very unspecial life. April assures Frank that when they get to France Frank will have the time to do whatever he wants and to figure out his special talent. But the audience knows the alternative side that to that idea—what if Frank actually has no special talent? What if Frank does not actually want to do anything?
Frank and April have so many dreams and hopes, but none of them actually have any substance or form beyond the vaguest of outlines. They hate their lives, but they have no alternative. Way back in Winslet and DiCaprio’s last outing, Winslet’s Rose stood on the Titanic and complained about the “inertia” of her life. Frank and April have the same problem of inertia. They hate their lives, but do not have the courage to move forward or backward. They’re stuck, and even though they have vague ideas about how to become unstuck, they can’t take that first step. Between unhappiness and uncertainty, Frank and April ultimately choose unhappiness.
SPOILER ALERT!!! HERE BE SPOILERS When Oscar nominations came out on Thursday, they conspicuously left out Revolutionary Road. I wondered why such a well-made movie (technically, it is impeccable) with such Big Ideas should be shut out. Well, I found the answer. This movie has a very large political agenda. This movie says that abortion should remain legal, both for women’s mental health and physical health. None of the reviews I read said anything about what part the politics play in this movie. I see this political agenda as a huge part of this movie, both at the level of plot and at the thematic level. The Academy is actually quite conservative (see their fawning over Clint Eastwood in the last few years), and on Thursday they said that Kate Winslet playing an illiterate Nazi was more acceptable than Kate Winslet playing a self-abortionist. I applaud the filmmakers for having the guts to not only address such a controversial issue, but to take a position and see it through. The audacity in dealing with abortion turns an otherwise well-made suburban melodrama into a Movie You Must See and one that should be remembered.
If you are not familiar with the particular method of abortion in this film, read the perfect Hemingway short story “Hills Like White Elephants.”