Thursday 27 February

Revolutionary Road

Director: Sam Mendes
Year: 2008
Stars: Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Shannon, Kathy Bates, Richard Easton

This film was everything I was hoping it would be. I knew a bit about the plot - it was about a suburban couple who had fallen into exactly the sort of mundane life everybody has else - the type of life they had promised themselves they wouldn't end up living.

That's basically where the film starts, and the rest of the film shows you how they cope (or not) with what they've become. It's a very talky piece, with little action and a brilliant script. I know that's not everybody's idea of a great time, but when one as good as this comes along I get very excited, as I love this type of film.

The two lead performances are also excellent. Winslet and DiCaprio do an excellent job of making you either care for or hate them, depending upon your own personality. I say this because Dan and my sympathies clearly lay in different places. Whilst I felt immense sympathy for Frank Wheeler, DiCaprio's character, Dan was much more sympathetic towards April Wheeler, played by Winslet. This seemed wrong until we came to the conclusion that Frank was much more similar to me personality-wise, whilst April was more like Dan.

This would be my choice for best film at any awards ceremony. It's different, engaging and keeps you talking after it's finished. Having said that, I realise it's not a film everybody would enjoy and can see that Slumdog Millionaire would have a much wider audience appeal.

Rating: 5 out of 5

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About Me

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I live in Bristol with my husband Dan (who I married in July 2007), my son Joe (born 2012) and daughter Jess (born 2015). I work at UWE (the University of the West of England) in Bristol as a Research and Open Access Librarian. I'm orginally from Exeter, so moving back to Bristol is a bit like coming home - especially as I studied for my undergraduate degree here (also at UWE). I love travelling and movies, although I get to do a lot less of both since the birth of our children. Although we have still managed to fit in holidays to the Isles of Scilly, Chamonix and a summer in California since Joe was born.