Revolutionary Road was the first time DiCaprio and Winslet had been on screen together since the blockbuster Titanic captured many people’s hearts. However, anyone expecting a repeat performance of the romantic chemistry these two clearly have were greatly mistaken.

Revolutionary Road is a story of a broken marriage, desperate for an injection of passion and a new start. Frank and April Wheeler would seem to be the perfect couple, but underneath all is not well. The film is set in the 50s when having a nice house and 2.4 children in a picturesque part of the neighborhood was almost common place.

With Frank stuck in a job he hates and April longing for a new adventure the couple see Paris as the perfect destination to re start their love affair as well as family life. But things take a turn for the worse when April becomes pregnant again and Frank is offered a promotion and his seemingly dead end job.

There is no denying the acting is brilliant, no, exceptional but it leaves too many un answered questions about the couples background. We only catch a glimpse at the start of the first meeting, after that it is up to us to guess where it all went wrong.

The supporting cast are fantastic when they get the chance, Kathy Bates as the busy body whose son only recently released from a physiatric ward gets to lay a few home truths on the Wheelers which go down in rather dramatic circumstances. David Harbour and Kathryn Hahn are superb as next-door neighbours again proving to be an integral part of the plot.

Mendes has done a wonderful job in turning an idyllic Eisenhower America into a tragic and depressing place. The end scene is shocking and somewhat disturbing but almost expected.

View the trailer

Rating: (3.5/5)

Visit the IMDb page for Revolutionary Road

DVD Extras: “Lives of Quiet Desperation: The Making of Revolutionary Road,” a 30-minute featurette that intersperses interviews with the cast and crew with behind-the-scenes footage and deleted scenes.

5 deleted scenes, with commentary by Sam Mendes, as well as audio commentary

Blu-ray Extras: Same as the DVD version but there is some bonus HD content with a ‘Richard Yates: Wages of Truth’ featurette. This is an inside look at the author of Revolutionary Road.

Please feel free to leave a comment about this film, I would love to know what you think and I will do my best to respond!