Revolutionary Road –Watching this first re-teaming of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet since their 1997 phenomenon “Titanic,” one can’t help but think that this is how their lives might have ended up – two kids, a nice house in suburbia – had “Jack” not sunk. Based on the Richard Yates novel of the same name, this is the story of Frank (DiCaprio) and April (Winslet) Wheeler, struggling to raise their kids in the early 1950s. Although the movie takes place almost a decade before “Mad Men,” the era feels the same – except that this couple lives a far less glamorous life, and they smoke even more cigarettes. Wheeler sells business machines at a company called Knox, and spends long four- martini lunches, but his frustrated (house)wife yearns to cut loose from the suburban apron strings and make a new beginning in Paris.
On a whim they decide to go through with it – sort of the opposite of “keeping up with the Joneses” – and even announce their plan to skeptical colleagues and their neighbors Milly and Shep (Kathryn Hahn and David Harbour). But when their move is challenged by life’s realities, the Betty Crocker housewife (Winslet) turns out to be harboring a secret, and it’s not her fudge brownie recipe. The movie is shot with great detail and helmed by Sam Mendes, who is Winslet’s real-life husband – which may explain why the short but smoldering sex scenes keep Winslet fully clothed. Yet the film feels artificial and stagy, not least because the children are always conveniently out of the house whenever the couple has a big blow-out. And because we never penetrate these actors –despite the Oscar-worthy performances – we are left to feel as if we’re spying on our neighbors’ dull and drawn-out battles. Winslet has grown into a sophisticated woman since her portrayal of Rose Dawson ten years earlier, but DiCaprio remains boyish in a way that feels out of place – these two are no longer the believable couple they were ten years ago. Another “Titanic” holdover, Kathy Bates, plays their realtor and friend, but I fear this movie has more in common with the earlier one’s titular ship than with its phenomenal success. In other words, “Revolutionary Road” will probably sink. 2 tiaras