fredag, maj 28, 2010

Revolutionary Road-what's revolutionary about it?


This is another film about the 1950's in the USA and the bigotry, the aim for a 'perfect life' with a 'perfect family' in a 'perfect house' etc etc... (Far from Heaven).

The film focuses around Frank and April Wheeler (Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet) and their very self-assured attitude, looking down on everyone else, not at all "being like them".
Frank dreams of Paris and he doesn't initially want to settle down and April finds him being "one of the most interesting persons she has ever met".
However they do settle down in a suburbian house, he starts to work at a computer company with tasks he dislike but this just in order to support the family financially.
Helen stays at home like a 'good hosewife', even though this is not what she wants.

They have children as everyone else, they have their party's as everyone else and their life eloigns more and more from their initial dreams of a life, living free, independent, travelling, living at different places in the world etc.
Driven to this point in their relationship their family life is starting to crackle and they blame each other, making it necessary to initiate a change in life, moving to Paris, the dream they've always nourished.
Unfortunately - for their plans - Frank is promoted as his work is appreciated at the company, whereby they stay on in their house trying to make the suburban life as agreeable as possible towards the dramatic turning point in their life.

The script is not bad but on the same time, we've several times seen similar themes in films, about people leading rather good lives but still not being satisfied as their dreams about an even better life always eludes them.
Having dreams is important but also having a somewhat realistic vision about how these dreams should be realized is also equally important. In this case we see a family who wants to eat the cake and still keep it.
It's like Kierkegaard said, one have to make "the great jump" into the unknown but in this case that jump should have been undertaken before they settled down, had children, house and mortgages. At this moment 'the great jump' is becoming more and more unrealistic.
Although the story could have been more interesting I don't find this film more than mediocre, with a mediocre story about a mediocre couple, not able to decide what is important in life.
The acting is good but I must say that compared to e.g. Danish actors and films, displaying family tragedies, the American way of acting always becomes more sentimental and less credible, a bit to polished.

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