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Revolutionary Road: A Look Back at Life in the 1950s By Aprille Espinueva Revolutionary Road, an adaptation of Richard Yates’ cult novel, portrays the story of a young married couple, Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April Wheeler (Kate Winslet) and their struggle to break free against conformity and conventionality in the 1950s. The movie begins with Frank and April’s initial encounter and we learn that their desire to live life to its fullest is the basis for their attraction. April aspires to be an actress and wants so much from life, while Frank represents the adventure of excitement. Flash forward years later and we find them becoming what they least expect, a bored housewife starving for something more and a husband unhappy at a routine job. The Wheelers go through times of joy and times of extreme anger and desperation. We begin to understand their boredom with their ordinary lives and their attempts to escape from reality as the movie progresses. In an attempt to reenergize and fulfill their dreams of their youth, the Wheelers decide to move to Paris but are met with criticism from co-workers, employers, neighbors and friends. The thought of woman being the breadwinner of the family is absurd. The thought challenges the idea of what a man and woman are supposed to be, something so trivial in modern times. Life doesn’t always have simple solutions, however, as shown by the difficulties the couple encounters. Frank’s promotion means the promise of more money, a necessity for a growing family. He is conflicted between his responsibilities or to follow his dreams. Once their plan begins to fall apart, we see the unwinding of this once happy suburban couple. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio have unbelievable chemistry in this film and are brilliant when pushed to their extremes. What captures the attention of the audience is that they fight passionately but also love passionately. The physicality seen in their quarrels is what makes us believe what these two are going through, and every nuance of emotion is felt. They play their parts so well that we are even forced to feel sorry for these people despite their misgivings and indiscretions. Director Sam Mendes does an excellent job with the visual aspects of the movie, making us wonder why people lived their lives as if it were a play. Images of conformity are shown by cookie-cutter houses, work cubicles and monotonous scenes of crowds of men in identical business suits heading off to work. These people run on hopelessness and emptiness of life but pretend that everything is fine, with false smiles that hide tears of unhappiness. There is such a thing as imperfection, but no one dares to admit it. Revolutionary Road deals with the honesty and the reality of marriage but becomes an exposition of the compromises that people take and the struggle at odds to make things work. What at first seems to be a slight rebellion in small town suburbia transforms into a world full of facades and false pretenses – a reality, unbeknownst to characters who live in that world. Frank and April’s escape to Paris becomes a metaphor for something bigger, a symbol of change and courage to take your life into your own hands. As quoted from the movie, “knowing what you’ve got, what you need, and what you can do without” can be interpreted in many ways and can be the difference between tragedy and happiness. Aprille Espinueva is a third-year pharmacy student. |
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