At first, it's not clear why she would like him. She seems to have hopes and dreams. He, maybe he's just a conventional guy who will work a job, get married, and have a few kids.
But what apparently attracts April to Frank is the fact that he had been to Paris, and when he talked of that experience, he was full of energy and life. Maybe April imagined that both of them were special, designed (or destined) to live extraordinary lives. Not just the typical lives of married couple with two kids in the suburbs. Clearly she wants him to want more to life, too, and she wants to feel what she first the first time they made love... she wants to feel that way ever second of the day...
Jump ahead 8 years. Frank is turning 30. They've settled into a suburban life with two kids. She apparently had continued to do small local plays, but they never amount to much. Her dream of being an actress has died. Frank, meanwhile, is "successful" at work. He makes enough to support his family in a very nice house, very middle-class. Everyone would say they are happy and successful. But they both feel empty and dissatisfied. Frank has his first affair, and April realizes that something needs to change and change quickly.
She rediscovers the old Paris picture of Frank, and is she crazy? Why couldn't they start all over? Move the entire family to Paris. She could support the family as a secretary, and Frank could find his purpose in life. They could do what no one ever does -- take risks, be daring, break the rules and do what they want to do in life.
For a while, this brings them closer together, but the dream of moving to Paris doesn't work out. Is she crazy? I think the film wants us to at least consider the idea. We also recognize that, even if Frank doesn't have everything he wants, and even if he's job is "pointless," it gives him status, and he has the freedom to leave the house and go into the city every day. He has an "outside life." All April has is motherhood and being a "good wife." She doesn't seem particularly interested or "good" at either role.
They fight. She declares that she doesn't love him. She loved that boy at the party, but that was a moment in time, and here they are eight years later. Life has changed. It might be a "good" life, but it's not the life she imagined.
The next morning, she's returned to the kitchen. She's making him eggs and being nice. But it's a role. She's trying the good wife role on? Maybe she can be the good wife? But no. When he goes to work, she cries over the kitchen sink. She can't pretend to be someone she's not, at least not as a daily role. She can't leave, she can't stay, and now she's pregnant with her third child. It's too much. She's going to do "the thing," and it ends up killing her.
The movie has depth and interesting characters, including Mrs. Givings (Kathy Bates), the real estate agent, and later friend, who sells them the "perfect house" on Revolutionary Road. Maybe April is crazy, maybe not, but Mrs. Givings son, John (Michael Shannon), is crazy. But crazy means seeing life more clearly and maybe being willing to say what others refuse to talk about. Frank and April have the Givings over to dinner a couple of times. Each time, John gets to voice opinions and say the things that aren't said in polite conversation.
My only criticism of the film: Sometimes Winslet and DiCaprio seem to be a little over-the-top in their delivery. They're both great actors, but sometimes the dialogue just didn't feel 100% normal. Just sometimes.
And this will sound funny, but when they first appear together at the party, I thought: Man, she's way too old for him. That's a joke. Kate and Leonardo were both in their mid-30s when this film was made, and they're playing characters in their early (first scene) to late (rest of the movie) late 20s. Winslet is such as "striking" woman, she just naturally seems "older," and DiCaprio's face always has a "boyish" charm...
Rating: 4.5/5
Comments
Post a Comment