By Michael Reist

Revolutionary Road

Directed by Sam Mendes

Dreamworks

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and Kathy Bates

Rated 14A for offensive language, nudity and sexual content

How many men and women have died as a result of suburban life? This is a statistic that will never be measured scientifically, but can be measured anecdotally. For some the death is metaphorical, for others the death is literal. We all know the stereotype of the monotone repressive 1950’s – a period in which the pressure to conform reached unprecedented heights. Why does this period resonate with us still?

I watched Revolutionary Road in a theatre “smack dab” (to use the kind of 50’s idiom peppered throughout the movie) in the middle of modern suburbia – in fact, one of the largest suburban projects in Canadian history – the Springdale suburb on the north end of Brampton, Ontario. What surprised me was the intense emotional response from the audience. People were weeping and gasping and laughing at this portrayal of 1950’s suburbia as though they were seeing their own experience reflected on the screen.

For all our liberal, post-modern ideas about pluralism and multiculturalism, we still live in a society where “fitting in” is dogma and “sticking out” is heresy. Nowhere does this cult of conformity thrive more strongly than in the suburbs of our own modern cities. It is a cult driven in many ways by consumer capitalism which stands ready to supply us with all of the products that will help us to “fit in.”

Revolutionary Road is the story of a couple who once had dreams and visions of a future life in which they would feel alive – not dead. The movie portrays the subtle and deadening influence that economics and fear can have on our dreams. What are we willing to give up for that better job? What are the fears that keep us from being happy?

The movie also deals with the issue of mental health and the isolation that feeds this problem. One character in the movie, the son of a neighbour, has just been released from what he refers to as “the funny farm.” He articulates the most insightful perceptions about the young couples’ predicament, and all his mother wants to do is silence him. The two main characters suffer from psychological stresses of which they are totally unaware until it is too late – the situation experienced by many in a culture where not being able to “hold it all together” is seen as a major failure and cause for shame.

One of the best performances comes from Cathy Bates, the uptight and judgemental real estate agent who acts as a kind of priestess in the rites of conformity. Driving the young couple to their prospective home, she delineates the ranks of the various houses and neighbourhoods on the way to their “cute and cozy colonial” – away from all the others. It is no surprise that it is her son who is the one suffering from mental illness as she tries to silence and control him at every turn. For her, he is the ultimate embarrassment. In the final scene of the movie, she passes the kind of poisonous judgement on the failed young couple that she most fears receiving herself.

Revolutionary Road is an intense two hours. There is endless fighting and arguing that reminds one of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? - the 1962 play and 1966 movie that portrayed another disillusioned couple of the same period. Kate Winslett and Leonardo DiCaprio deliver solid performances as two tortured young souls.

Michael Reist is the author of The Dysfunctional School and a frequent speaker to parent groups and educational conferences. www.michaelreist.ca

For an article on the book and an excerpt LINK HERE

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