Movie Break – “Revolutionary Road”
Remember when Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio played doomed lovers in “Titanic?”
They’re at it again, this time as a doomed married couple in “Revolutionary Road.”
The movie, which opens in limited release on December 26th and has been nominated for four Golden Globes (best director, best picture, best actress and actor), is based on a very grim novel by Richard Yates about the miseries of married life in the suburbs in the ’50s.
Also in the movie is Kathy Bates as a real estate agent
and Michael Shannon (from “When the Devil Knows You’re Dead”) as her psychotic son.
Director Sam Mendes, Kate Winslet’s real-life husband, directed “American Beauty” a few years ago and there are similarities. Both films are about couples who feel trapped in their marriages – and scream at each other a lot. The difference is that “American Beauty” had moments of levity. “Revolutionary Road” is serious business throughout. The actors are all great (Kate as the frustrated housewife; Leo as the man in the grey flannel suit), but I walked out of the theater going, “Did I really need to see this?”
Side note. The movie was shot in Darien, CT, home of Brian Cashman. Can’t help inserting a Yankees reference somewhere.
Another side note. Michael Shannon did a Q&A with us after the screening. He was asked what his next project is, and he said, “I’m doing a movie with Mickey Rourke.” I guess Mickey wasn’t kidding when he told us yesterday that he was making a comeback.
Did I enjoy “Revolutionary Road?”
Let me put it in baseball terms. You’re a Yankee fan. You’re watching a Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway. It’s a tense contest. No score. You’re appreciating the effort from both sides, but you’re squirming in your seat, wishing it would be over. Bottom of the ninth. David Ortiz hits a walk-off homer.
The movie was well done, but no. I didn’t enjoy it.
Here’s the trailer. Even the music is depressing. I’ll be glad to get back to blogging about baseball tomorrow.
Confessions of a She-Fan 
Thanks Jane! I guess I can wait for this one to come on on-demand. You definitly have interesting weekends.
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
Luckily for me, this time of the year doesn’t coincide with baseball games or I’d be missing the screenings and the film festival.
Wish I was you right now, Jane. I’ve had some experience making films as a college major and I still love the film-making industry. Some indie films are great but I agree with you that most times, indies try too hard to be real and end up being depressing. To me, the point of movies was to get away from real life for a couple hours and think about something better. I can’t stand movies that are too “real.”
http://thegoodofthegame.mlblogs.com
When you mention “Michael Shannon” I assume this is a different person than Mike Shannon — the former STL Cardinals star now long employed as broadcaster debonair and resident clubhouse drunk, right? If it’s the same guy then that was some screening I bet!
–Jeff
http://redstatebluestate.mlblogs.com/
I love film making too, Scott. Interesting that you studied it in college. Did you ever think about doing it professionally? As for the indies, I honestly don’t mind if a subject is dark and explores the less-than-attractive sides of human nature (“The Wrestler,” “Rachel Gets Married.” just to name a couple of recent ones). But the movie yesterday took itself VERY seriously.
No, Jeff. Not the same Michael Shannon. Did I mention that there’s another actor in the movie named Albert Pujols?
This wasn’t exactly an uplifting movie, either, but I’d highly recommend “Shotgun Stories,” a lower-budget movie in which Michael Shannon was outstanding.
http://heartlandpinstripes.wordpress.com/
Thanks, kozmo. He’s a very good actor so I’ll check out the movie.