The success of My Bloody Valentine and The Uninvited make the Hollywood studios think the audiences just want to be scared. Well if it is a true horror movie they want, why not sit back and absorb Revolutionary Road. Sam Mendes' masterful look at life in suburbia is so frightening, it will leave you pondering the point of marriage for weeks to come. America can handle watching scantily clad teens being chased by chainsaws or token black guys saying funny lines right before they are decapitated, but being forced to examine in their marriage is a monster they cannot escape once they leave the theater. The truth in the success of American films is not that the audience wants to be scared, but they want to feel something. Sweeping epics, action packed thrillers and gory slasher flicks have always done well at the box office because it gets the blood pumping. As kids we live vicariously through our heroes by playing make believe. The true secret is that we never stop. We just don't acknowledge we sometimes pretend to be something we are not.
Movies like Revolutionary Road and American Beauty, Mendes' most famous film, are scary in premise but not content. In Revolutionary Road, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet play Frank and April Wheeler, a beautiful couple who settle down in a New York suburb. Frank is a suave middle man who seems to have the world by the balls, and April is a aspiring actress and stay at home mom with two healthy kids. The world sees them as having everything, but they both cannot shake the fact that they are missing something. This film is not only about the struggle between man and wife, but the universal struggle of always wanting more. The performances from both leads are nothing short of riveting, as DiCaprio demonstrates again why he should be taken seriously as an actor. It's not fair to either film to compare this movie to Titanic, because there is nothing similar except for the cast. Whether the real life friendship between Kate and Leo helped their on screen "chemistry" is irrelevant. The two take part in some of the most intimate and emotionally devastating scenes in recent memory. The movie is paced just right, adding little by little to the relationship until it explodes. The supporting players are all on par, especially Michael Shannon, who walks the line of genius and insanity in a brilliant way.
While it is easy to be pessimistic about marriage after this film, there is a silver lining. To say Frank and April Wheeler are a representative of the typical American married couple is unfair. Think of them as a case study. Elements from other's relationships might be present, but they do not echo 100% of the whole. The film is just a story. Any generalization is on the part of the individual. Furthermore, a good relationship will not be strained by viewing this movie. In fact it may make a relationship stronger.
For Kate and Leo, you could not pick a better film for them to reunite in. Sure they took the long way home, but it was well worth the wait. Thanks to their dynamic performances and the directors first class film making, Revolutionary Road is one of the best films of the year.
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