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After watching The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button in the first 3 hours of 2009, Revolutionary Road made an even more special 6 hours of 2009 by watching it straight after it. Revolutionary Road is another masterful suburban drama from Sam Mendes. This film brought together quite a few things from American Beauty like the fallouts between husband and wife, the sceneries behind it and what the plot is in general. This is an emotional drama that has a dark outlook on life. This one is darker than American Beauty because American Beauty is a beautiful story as well as depressing. Revolutionary Road is more dramatic. What I truly love about suburban dramas is that there is both beauty and drama within them.
Leonardo DiCaprio was fantastic as Frank Wheeler. Nobody has ever seen him play a character like Frank who is a man at a job he hates and is a family man. We have previously seen DiCaprio play really different characters in the past where he just lives his own life like Jack Dawson, Billy Costigan, Frank Abagnale Jr. and Danny Archer. Despite how different Frank is compared, he has that some used in DiCaprio because Frank is a rather serious character. Kate Winslet's performance was fabulous as April Wheeler. April is a troubled woman who ends up being an actress much to her dismay. To star a new fresh life, she wants to live in Paris with Frank and their son and daughter. Kate has played that mothering kind of character before like she did in her Oscar nominated performance in Little Children. Kate has truly given the best performance of her career even beating Rose in Titanic. April is mixed up and confused about what she wants. Kate has a huge chance of winning two Oscars in the same year: for Revolutionary Road (Leading Actress) and The Reader (Supporting Actress). It's a damn shame that Kate won the Oscar for The Reader instead of Revolutionary Road. Kathy Bates was good as Mrs. Helen Givings in a possible Oscar worthy performance. Michael Shannon made me laugh in this one because John Givings is such an irritating character. It was great seeing Leonardo and Kate in a film together again.
Sam Mendes' direction was fantastic but was very different compared to American Beauty even though the stories in both are quite similar. This film must have been a life changing experience for Mendes because he worked with his wife Kate Winslet, he worked with one of the most popular partnerships of all time which was in Titanic and now Revolutionary Road. Also, because Kate and Leonardo are almost like best friends in real life. I mean, what a fantastic collaboration: Mendes-DiCaprio-Winslet. There are two masterpieces involving cast (including Kathy Bates) with director and story theme and they are Titanic and American Beauty. Mendes is THE fantastic just like American Beauty was.
This is Kate Winslet's best film so far where she has to finally win an Oscar especially working with her husband. Love DiCaprio in this but love his performance in The Departed the most. Sam Mendes' second best after American Beauty and it's my third favourite film of 2008 behind The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and The Dark Knight. Revolutionary Road is a re-born suburban drama from Mendes. Loved Mendes before but love his work even more now!!
