nan | 楠木

I’ll confess – I had zero knowledge of this film prior to watching it – I thought this was going to be a war epic or something, judging by the “deceptive” title (which further betrays my ignorance of American literature); and I didn’t realize the significance of it starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet until I saw them appear on-screen – it’s their first reunion after Titanic, the biggest blockbuster in movie history! And only when the credits rolled up, did I realize that the director was Sam Mendes – so that’s why the style felt so familiar!

My ignorance and some mockery aside, this is a great film. It builds up a brilliant portrayal of suburban life in 1950s, and then unapologetically tears it up. It is a beautiful (if that’s an appropriate word in such circumstances) anatomy of love, marriage and life.

Mr. DiCaprio and Ms. Winslet are the Wheelers, a young couple living in a nice suburban house upon Revolutionary Road. They have two children. Mr. Frank Wheeler commutes by train to town every day. Mrs. April Wheeler is a housewife. They have a car, and they are on good terms with their neighbors, who they often socialize with.

Materialistically, they couldn’t ask for more. Spiritually, they have nothing. April, in particular, feels particularly empty and trapped – the “hopeless emptiness”, as another character would later term it in the film. Perhaps in desperation, she makes a bold proposition – give up everything they have, and move to Paris. She will find work as a secretary; he can contemplate what he really wants to do in life.

Frank is enchanted by this idea. He is sick and tired of his day job, which involves doing nothing and occasionally sleeping with the secretarial staff (out of total boredom). For a while, the couple seems to have rediscovered the magic of life. But then again, things always seemed to good to be true, and as several complications force them to reconsider their plans, the couple encounters a brutal marital crisis, which leads to the cinematic climax of the film.

Without spoiling too much of the film, I would like to say that this is family drama at its very best. It is a especially bold examination of the hollowness of the “routine family life”, and the Wheeler’s brief but tragic struggle to recapture their life’s purpose is particularly poignant. And as a side topic, the film offers one of the best direct arguments for legalized abortion, in that it gives females freedom and equality.

For this brilliant portrayal, both of the lead protagonists are worthy of praise. Mr. DiCaprio has long proved his capabilities as an actor since Titanic, and here he again demonstrates his intensity in front of the camera. Ms. Winslet’s contrastingly quiet and more reserved performance is even more noteworthy, and she crafts a vivid image of the female seeking liberation in the 1950s. And again on a side note, Michael Shannon steals every scene he’s in as one of the film’s most eccentric (and ironically, most truthful) side characters.

With this film, Sam Mendes has furthered the discussions he first presented in American Beauty. This is a great film with lots of intelligent and catchy dialogues, and there are so many good lines that it would be injustice to only paraphrase one or two here – just go watch it, and savor every moment of this hauntingly beautiful drama.

9/10