Road to Ruin

While masses of moviegoers scurried off to see “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” this weekend, I was finally able to see “Revolutionary Road” which, at long last, made its way to San Antonio.

Having read Richard Yates’ marvelous novel last summer and then thinking about Frank and April Wheeler, its very troubled central characters, ever since, I was looking forward to the much-discussed and –given its release during Oscar season-- much-hyped film version. I wasn’t disappointed. It’s one of the best movies of the year. It has not proven to be a box-office bonanza and, sadly, may prove to be an also-ran in a year when “Slumdog Millionaire” is mopping up just about every critics list and will more than likely be the big Oscar champ. This is understandable. There is nothing uplifting or feel-goody about “Revolutionary Road.” Where’s the appeal in a domestic drama about a marriage in crisis, circa 1955, that exposes the emptiness and broken promises of the postwar American Dream? I agree with others who believe this movie will easily trump the test of time and be discovered (and rediscovered) and appreciated anew for years to come.

Winslet is even better than I had anticipated. April is almost an impossible role; it’s one of the novel’s greatest achievements that Yates keeps this desperate, maddening and sometimes ridiculous woman so sympathetic and believable. The fact that Winslet conveys –so skillfully, almost effortlessly—these same contradictions in a year when she has already delivered the year’s best performance in “The Reader” is a true testament to her remarkable talent as an actor.

I have always like DiCaprio but have to admit I found him lacking as a leading man. To me, there was a boyishness about him that, though appealing, sometimes undercut the gravity and maturity required of certain roles. For example, what worked well for “Gangs of New York” was all wrong for “The Aviator.” Not until “The Departed” (his best work to date, in my opinion) could I appreciate any real maturity of character. So I was hesitant to accept him as Frank and as much as I could see Winslet as April, believed that casting Leo was a rather crass and obvious pandering to the “Titanic” fanatics who might make this move another worldwide wonder. I could see Matt Damon or Aaron Eckhart in the role and perhaps Gwyneth Paltrow as another April possibility (and while reading the book last summer, I kept picturing Jon Hamm and especially January Jones….gee, I wonder where that came from?) This turns out to be one of DiCaprio’s finest hours. There is something especially good about his choices in two scenes with Winslet, and a third with Kazan. The reckless disregard and casual contempt with which he dismisses both wife and mistress is perfectly played. In these three brief passages he is able to convey Frank’s rottenness which lurks at the core of his despair.

This is the best acted American film of 2008. Period. End of discussion. You will not find a better ensemble anywhere. It’s only Sam Mendes’ fourth feature film but it has been assembled with a grace and confidence of a master. Given his success as a theater director it is no surprise that the performances here, as in his previous three films, are superb. A two-hour version of a rather epic novel dictates the cutting down of or total elimination of characters, which is always a shame but the necessary evil of adapting a book for the silver screen. Shep, Milly, Helen, John, Mona and Jack are all rich and complex characters, adding much (much) more to the novel than allowed in their brief screen cameos. However, think for a moment how incredibly rich each of these characters manage to be in their fleeting moments. Credit, respectively, David Harbour, Kathryn Hahn, Kathy Bates, Michael Shannon, Zoe Kazan and Dylan Baker for bringing such clarity and nuance not only to their performances but the film’s rich tapestry. Bates and Shannon are getting some –but not nearly enough—Oscar buzz for their work. Shannon has the showier, more sympathetic part but just take a moment and watch what Bates can do with something as simple as the early scene with Winslet, drinking coffee at the breakfast table. No hysterics, no melodrama, nothing flashy at all: just a reaction to an unexpected gesture of kindness. It’s a great moment. (If Hahn and especially Harbour had about five more minutes of screen time, they would be, without a doubt, deserving some serious supporting Oscar chatter, as well)

In a year when “Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight” and “Slumdog…” seem to dominate, understandably, all discussions and award banquets when it comes to technical achievement, it should be noted that “Revolutionary Road” has a sweep all its own. Without a lot of technical wizardry, it is still a marvel of design and composition.
While everyone is slobbering over Thomas Newman’s score for Wall-E, might I suggest that his work here (as in all previous collaborations with Mendes) is superior? And if this isn’t Roger Deakins Oscar year, especially with this achievement right on the heels of “No Country For Old Men” AND “…Jesse James…”, then I don’t know what is. What he can do with light and shadow is sometimes just short of miraculous.

On Thursday morning, we’ll all know who’s up for the little golden man, and who isn’t. Although I think it’s one of the top five movies of the year, and would also cite Mendes, Winslet, DiCaprio, Bates, Shannon, Deakens and Newman as deserving contenders , I’m doubtful that is going to happen. Winslet is a given. DiCaprio has a good chance but he’s fighting some other strong challengers (Jenkins, Pitt, Eastwood) all jostling for the final two slots following the Penn-Rourke-Langella trinity. And Deakins looks pretty strong, given his other fine work this year on “The Reader” and “Doubt” plus a nomination from the ASC. Still, this is a year of great-looking movies. When you think about Chris Menges, Wally Pfister, Claudio Miranda and especially Harris Savides, it’s impossible to pick “the best.” Isn’t it?