Revolutionary Road - REVIEW

In an odd sort of way, I almost feel sorry for Sam Mendes. Sure, he has an Oscar, is well respected in Hollywood and the theater world, and he's married to Kate Winslet...but I feel sorry for him. Why? Because after his brilliant debut in American Beauty (1999), he's had a meteoric fall in quality. Not that he's directed anything atrocious (although 2005's Jarhead was pretty blah save for the cinematography), but everything Mendes has done after American Beauty just doesn't measure up. In fact, he seems to be heading downhill. 2002's Road to Perdition was excellent, but it didn't quite match American Beauty's dramatic impact. Jarhead was annoyingly average aside from the technical aspects. And then there's Revolutionary Road, where Mendes seems determined to tread similar ground, only without those aspects of American Beauty that made it so amazing. This time, the story seems to combine the crumbling marriage of Lester and Carolyn Burnham with the escape fantasy of their daughter Jane and boyfriend Ricky Fitts. Frank and April Wheeler (Di Caprio and Winslet) are a 1950s couple settled in the suburbs. Frank goes to work every day and faces monotony in the office, while April stays home with the kids and faces the monotony of life on Revolutionary Road itself. Then of course, comes the plan to escape to Paris. Frank will have time to figure out what he really wants to do in life while (GASP) his wife supports him. Then of course, like in American Beauty, there's the neighbors with a son who's spent time in a mental institution (Michael Shannon, who could be a worthy successor for Heath Ledger's version of the Joker) who sees through the BS and says what everyone else keeps hidden. And it could have all been so compelling, if it wasn't for Justin Haythe's screenplay hurting everyone's efforts. When Haythe isn't forcing DiCaprio and Winslet to shout dialogue that spells out the message of the movie ("Who made these RULES anyway!?"), he's hurting them in other ways. For instance, we almost never...NEVER see the Wheeler's two young children, and after a while, you might begin to think that the kids just ran away and no one cared. And for all of the explosive arguments between Frank and April, it's very rare that it ever feels electrifying; mostly it's just LOUD. And then there's the biggest issue: the comedy. For a movie that's been hyped up to be depressing enough to make you want to cut yourself, there's an awful lot of small moments of humor, which holds the movie back from becoming truly compelling until the last 20 minutes, by which time the damage has become irreparable. Artistic and technical aspects are solid, though any episode of Mad Men is probably superior, and Thomas Newman contributes another simple-yet-magnetic score, but it's all in vain against Haythe's script. As for the acting, Winslet and DiCaprio are very good, particularly as the film reaches its conclusion, but they're held back for so long that their performances suffer (again, this is not their fault). Then there's Michael Shannon, who gives a performance so off-the-wall bizarre that I still can't decide if I like it or hate it. But most bizarre of all is that after all the shouting, personal attacks, mind games, suffering, and tragedy, the movie ends on a mildly funny note. Perhaps a better title would have been "Tonally Inconsistent Road"...

Grade: B-/C+

Number of 2008 Films Seen: 56

Kate Winslet: This year's award season double threat

EDIT: No, I did not write this. I forgot where I saw it, but if I ever find it, I'll list the source to give credit. Sorry for any confusion.

Kate Winslet Brings Sexy Back — And Reading

I spent the better part of yesterday screening the two Kate Winslet films up for Oscar consideration and ready for holiday release: "The Reader" and "Revolutionary Road."

The good news is: they are each excellent. It’s a total win-win situation for Winslet, who shows such an incredible breadth of talent in these two polar opposite films that critics and fans are going to start calling her "Meryl Streep, Jr."

Stephen Daldry’s "The Reader" has a lot going for it, not the least of which is some sexy material. In a dry season "The Reader" benefits not just a little from Winslet’s cougar-esque Hanna’s many naked tanglings with Michael, played by 18 year old David Kross, a German actor who had to learn English for the movie. (He’s supposed to be 15 on screen.)

The Reader is based on the novel by Bernard Schlink, which was highly praised, a bestseller and a choice of Oprah’s Book Club. The subject is serious, since after Michael’s summer fling with Hanna circa 1964 he discovers that she’s on trial in Berlin as a war criminal. Hanna and several other women are being tried as Nazi guards who caused the particular death of 300 Jewish women.

Winslet and Kross have sizzling chemistry in the film, and Ralph Fiennes—as the adult Michael—could not be better. Daldry is unsparing of Hanna as a villain, and makes no apologies for her participation in the Holocaust. Neither, frankly, does Hanna, and that’s what makes the movie so fascinating. There is no tendency to cliché. Rather, "The Reader" has also the earmarks of a Best Picture nominee, a movie about an intimate relationship set against the backdrop of an Important Issue.

Winslet is a revelation in "The Reader," and quite different than in "Rev Road" (see below). That she could have both movies in one season is really the achievement. In "The Reader" she not only ages drastically, but she manages to convey with depth the emotions of a sexually voracious 40 year old and an embittered, incarcerated 60 year old. And, as it turns out, each of these personas also shares one more: a concentration camp guard with no regrets.

"The Reader" has its own strong foundation in a David Hare screenplay, not to mention a vibrant musical score by Alberto Iglesias and a gorgeous palate supplied by cinematographer Chris Menges. The only problem now is convincing Academy voters that Winslet should be considered ‘supporting’ here instead of lead since she’s on screen most of the time. She will go into competition with Penelope Cruz, Viola Davis, Amy Adams, Marisa Tomei and Rosemarie Dewitt – just to name a few.

One thing about "The Reader"—unlike, say, "Valkyrie" and "Defiance," you will not see any swastikas or Nazi uniforms. You will hear much discussion of the Holocaust, however, which makes it itself the opposite of "Valkyrie" in its subject matter and intentions.

PS The literati-oriented audience at "The Reader" screening last night loved it. Among the fans: famed book agent Lynn Nesbit, journalist Marie Brenner, and novelist Walter Moseley. Daldry took questions from the small group, not one of which was about Hollywood. Everyone wanted to discuss the Holocaust, the characters’ motivations, and the sublime execution of this landmark film...

New "Revolutionary Road" trailer