Blu-Ray Review: ‘Revolutionary Road’

The Movie:

Leonardo Dicaprio(Frank) and Kate Winslet(April) reteam for this drama based in 1955 about a couple who are living the American dream in suburban Connecticut. April is a stay at home housewife who is leading a mundain existance and grows increasingly tired of day to day routine that comes with the territory. She decides that they should move for Hawaii and start over new and fresh, which catches Frank off guard but eventually he warms up to it.

Although Frank isnt happy in his job, he starts to get noticed for his work ethic and gets a promotion which makes he not want to make the move and instead tries to convince April its a bad idea. Later on April discovers that she is pregnant and is considering an abortion because she thinks it will ruin their plans.

Without going into too much more of the story and spoiling it for everyone that hasnt seen it yet, I will stop there and go into the performances. Kate Winslet did 2 amazing drama’s in 2008, one of which, ‘The Reader’, she won an Oscar for but she could have easily taken it home for her role in ‘Revolutionary Road’ as well.

My only beef with this movie has nothing to do with the acting, and more of the subject matter and overall theme of the film. To say that this movie is beyond depressing would be an understatement. After finishing the film you sort of just want to go and curl up in a bed and just lay there forever. Its hard to describe the utter emptiness you feel after it but watch it and find out for yourself. In no way am I saying the movie is bad, or unwatchable, it is however very heavy and takes some time to ingest it all.

The Blu-Ray:

Although the film is based in 1955, if it weren’t for the clothes and surroundings you wouldn’t be able to tell from how crisp and solid the picture is on the bluray. Its absolutely phenomenal and everything jumps off the screen, especially the beautiful suburban neighborhoods. The visuals of the movie almost make you forget how depressing the film is! The sound is also unmatched even though there arent alot of “loud” scenes, the surrounding areas of the film can definitely be heard and enjoyed.

This release features over 20 minutes of delete scenes which also has commentary from Sam Mendes, a full commentary track from Mendes and writer Justin Haythe, and my favorite feature, a documentary called   ‘Lives of Quiet Desperation: The Making of Revolutionary Road’. For some reason I absolutely love watching how these films, especially ones set in another era, are made.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5