Blu-ray Review: Revolutionary Road

Revolutionary Road
Written by: Justin Haythe based on the novel by Richard Yates
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Michael Shannon, Kathryn Hahn, David Harbor, and Kathy Bates

Blu-ray Specs:
1080 p High Definition
English 5.1 TrueHD
French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
English/English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese Subtitles

Bonus Features: Commentary with Director Sam Mendes and Screenwriter Justin Haythe, Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary, Lives of Quiet Desperation: The Making of Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates: The Wages of Truth, Theatrical Trailer

Revolutionary Road was one of my most anticipated films of 2008. The combined power of Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Sam Mendes was just too much to resist and I was extremely excited to see the amazing film that would be born from such a trinity of brilliance.

Unfortunately, it's not brilliant. In fact, it's not particularly good at all.

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Last year seemed to have a lot of big "award" movies that looked in credible but turned out to be lackluster. In fact, with the exception of Doubt and Slumdog Millionaire, it seemed that the majority of these films turned out to be duds.

Which is why it kinda pains me to write this review. I had such high hopes for Revolutionary Road and it is kinda sad to have them all quashed by the final product.

The film is a relentless downer in which we have no opportunity to give one damn about any of the characters. These are awful awful people. Beyond the first five minutes it seems like every time the two leads are together they launch into an argument. It's 2 hours of them screaming at each other and when they aren't screaming they're doing other horrible things.

The performances are decent with the exception of Leonardo DiCaprio who truly is captivating in the role. He makes the movie partially watchable because he brings a quiet intensity to the role.

The plot of the film is basically a couple who live in the suburbs whose lives are falling apart because they are unsatisfied with how things have turned out. They grow to despise each other and we see every agonizing moment of it.

I am not against a depressing film. I like sad movies. I like dark movies. The problem here is that there is nothing to anchor the viewer. There is no one to care about because both of these people do things that make us hate them. I did not care one bit if they stayed together, got divorced, or died a horrible death.

This film is just not enjoyable. Outside of one performance (Leo's) the movie is a drag and one of the biggest disappointments of the year.

That said, it looks fantastic on Blu-ray. I never want to lay eyes on it again but it does look beautiful. The disc is light on features and there really isn't anything particularly interested to note. There is commentary but I had no desire to hear anyone, not even the great Sam Mendes, prattle on about this movie.

This film should have been amazing but int he end it's just a depressing disappointment. It's odd for a movie that displays so much emotion to feel like it has such a lack of it.

If you want to brave it, Revolutionary Road is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.