Revolutionary Road

Revolutionary Road (2008)

Directed by: Sam Mendes
Based on a novel by: Richard Yates
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet.

This is the best drama film I've seen in a while now. It is in the territories of Marriage Story, exploring a couple and their interpersonal relationship. April and Frank, decide to risk everything they have, and move to Paris to live a life of their dreams. After a while, practical problems start kicking in - Frank gets a job offer with better money and April gets pregnant. What's worse, is the marriage starts falling apart. Frank cheats on her, and goes home to see that April has planned a surprise for him, he's heartbroken out of guilt. The relationship of April and Frank is a classic example of what an anxious and avoidant attached couple would go through. Frank is anxiously attached, he always wants to talk, and be there for her. April wants space, and she doesn't want to talk. Unfortunately, both of them exactly tap on each other's vulnerabilities. After a while, when Frank decides to confess to April that he cheated on her, April's reaction to what he says is worse than the act of cheating in itself. She doesn't care that he cheated. She's like, so what now, fuck who you want. Frank at least feels guilty about cheating on her, April doesn't, because she has completely fallen out of love, and that could've happened perhaps because she is avoidant attached and all she perhaps needed was some space. The film beautifully addresses this in the ending too, when we see that an old couple just turns off the hearing aid and just stops listening. It talks about the aspect of taking a break from someone. Having said that, all of these are not conscious choices people make, the attachment styles are based on how they were treated as a child. So nobody can help it. The only way to deal with it is recognize certain patterns and make sure you don't fall back on them again and again. 

I felt that a similar film could've also been made in a Mumblecore style, well yes, the setting adds a good layer to the characters and the story, but I totally see this film being in the space of Malcolm and Marie, Blue Jay, or something like Marriage Story too. The scale of the film is a creative choice, but the script would work even in a modern setting is what I felt. Leo is terrific as Frank, he gets rattled when he gets to know that she doesn't love him. He just can't take it. He breaks things around, and his body language conveyed his state of mind very well. The way the film is shot is also very interesting, it's both epic and intimate.