Richard Yates 1962 novel was a major on-ramp to the parkway that led America out of the rosy illusions of the Eisenhower era and drove increasingly dysfunctional families through decades of domestic dissection at the movies. Troubled couples from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Scenes From a Marriage, An Unmarried Woman, American Beauty and Little Children share the same struggles, partly because, from the 1950’s onward, marriage turned a dark corner when happily ever after became a quaint outdated concept. We’ve seen marriages fall apart in dozens of films, but Revolutionary Road looks intriguing to me because it returns to a time when society’s pressures to make things work were so great that the distinction between breakups and breakdowns must’ve seemed especially hard to separate. It’s not a pretty picture, but with Kate and Leo and cars with chrome-tipped fins, it promises to be a really beautiful journey through bleak dramatic territory.
32 Responses for "Revolutionary Road trailer"
I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am for this film. The novel was absolutely brillant and I am crossing my fingers that the film follows suit. I think the trailer may look a bit melodramatic, but the chemistry between Leo and Kate is an inferno, and I’m hoping this shapes up to be a major contender.
It looks stunning and it seems it has successfully brought the novel to life.
DiCaprio and Winslet look great.
I don’t know about this. Adapting not only a modern classic, but also quite a densely constructed and interior novel is very tricky. The book also manages to be both engaging from a human perspective, whilst being deeply symbolic. In that way, its going to have parallels with Atonement and maybe Little Children.
I think that (romantic period) melodramas are very, very difficult things to get right. Atonement was a very, very almost. But missing the mark slightly can create a disaster (Evening, love in a time of cholera…even the latest brideshead) oscar-wise. And i think that’s partly because these films 1) immediately flare-up oscar signals, 2)Are actually very unfashionable.
Anyways, its going to be hard to marry the two aspects if Revolutionary Road. Unlike Atonement, which focused on the symbolic/stylistic but lost some necessary emotional resonance, RR seems to be going the other way…the problem being that it could all become a bit too…Reservation Road.
Also i think the climax of the story is going to be difficult to make credible for a modern audience. And if the ending doesn’t seem right, the whole impact of the film suffers.
But i have faith in the talent. But i think my main concern is that it all feels a bit too familiar. Mad Men and Little Children with the cast of Titanic. And Yates’ novel deserves so much more than that.
OMG!!! It looks beautiful! I can not wait to see this movie. Kate Winslet is the most talented actress around. Love her!
I don’t know about Oscar Chances, but I’ll be there opening weekend.
It looks deeply, deeply DULL. Two beautiful people living their beautiful life & moaning about how unhappy they are. Go cry me a river will I suspect be the reaction from those viewers who aren’t as obsessed with DiCaprio & Winslett as some of the people on here are.
I give it a maybe.
Once again… a film overhyped just because of the Oscar wins and noms of the cast and players…. CWW lite, no wonder A.D.’s falling for this.
We’ll see…
In fairness, David, it’s based on a truly great novel — there’s a lot more to be excited about than just the cast.
The trailer is beautiful. A lovely score and wonderfully edited. And while the trailer seems fresh, the movie itself has a sever been there done that feel to it. Haven’t we seen this before in various shapes in sizes. Granted, I haven’t read Yates novel, and so maybe I’m missing something serious from this one, but it just doesn’t seem all that original, neither in the material or the way it’s being handled.
It does, however, seem like Oscar bait. it’s all there, an all star cast, an Oscar winning director, a class source material, and just enough pretention and self-importance to make it seem too high-brow for the average Joe Blow. I’m not hating, I want to see this. But I don’t know how it will fare in the end.
I am interested now, the trailer was great (I love “Wild is the Wind”), hopefully it meets expectations.
I don’t know what it is about DiCaprio. I think he’s a fine actor, no question, but I have difficulty accepting him in this role as “a family man.” To me he still has this hotshot teenager look written all over his face. He just seems miscast.
I’d love to see the better book from that year year made into a movie: “The Moviegoer.” I think a graceful story about a man who finds more meaning in movies and books than in reality (set in New Orleans!) would be timely.
Still, I’m looking forward to this one, too (as much as one can sanely look forward to something so horribly sad).
great actors, great novel, great director, great everything… and leo and winslet are both overdue if you ask me… i see oscar in their future
DiCaprio looks great.
He blew me away in The Departed. It was seriously a tragedy that he got nominated for Blood Diamond (with that horrible accent) and not THE BEST PERFORMANCE of HIS CAREER which was in THE DEPARTED.
Shame. Hope this is good.
Far From Far From Heaven?
It looks like American Beauty combined with Douglas Sirk and Mad Men. I’m really not sure about this.
It looks like American Beauty meets portions of The Hours, meets Far From Heaven which is not making me excited. But its Leo and Kate so excited or not, I’m paying to see this.
I cant wait to see this!
the_movie_guy, just for difference in opinion, I thought DiCaprio was excellent in ‘Blood Diamond’; and better in that than ‘The Departed’. I thought ‘The Departed’ was all Jack and Mark.
Consider me sold on this one. I see some acting noms for Kate and Leo, a Best Director nod for Mendes, and one for Adapted Screenplay.
Two Words: Nina Simone!
I forgot how talented she was, and the trailer just brought me back. She has such a lovely voice, and it really brings out the pain that Mendes attempts to capture through Winslet and DiCaprio.
I think it will definitely compete in the acting, writing, and directing awards. I’m not completely sold on its best picture chances, but it is certainly a competitor in that one too.
I was indifferent to this project til now. Damn fine trailer, DiCaprio is one of our finest actors nowadays and so is Winslet. I’ll definitely check this out opening weekend.
I dunno… I’m thinking “Meh…” but it very well could be amazing. Even if the picture isn’t great, Kate and possibly Leo could still score nods.
Leo and Kate are two of the greatest actors of their generation and they have that type of rare onscreen chemistry that reminds me of the days of Bogart and Bacall, Hepburn and Tracy, Taylor and Burton. With many more Oscar nominations ahead of them, they are sure to go down as film legends. From the couple of reviews I read, they are being compared to Paul Newman and Liz Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. That’s pretty impressive to say the least. But these are two actors that have proven for over a decade that they are the face of this generation. With already already 8 Oscar nominations combined, I’m sure they won’t disappoint. The real question is whether this movie will go down as a classic or simply just a good movie. Being a part of classic, timeless movies are what adds to one’s legacy. Hopefully this is one of those.
Stunning.
even from what little we can see here i think it’s safe to say that this film is beautifully shot, and Roger Deakins may be headed for his 8th nomination … hopefully he can finally bring home a statuette
Both are great actors, but I don’t see the chemistry there. I didn’t buy the relationship in Titanic, either. Winslet seems like a middle aged woman and DiCaprio still doesn’t look a day over 19.
The trailer does look impressive, though.
John,
I totally and respectively disagree with you. The weight of The Departed was carried by DiCaprio, he was the one under the most pressure and you could actually feel him breaking down. It was a very, very, measured and weathered performance.
His scene with Vera Farmiga when he’s asking for pills and the scene where he tells Martin Sheen he thinks he wants “feed him to the poor” were absolutely powerful.
I hadn’t respected DiCaprio for a long time but after The Departed he was instantly back in my good graces (his horrible South African accent in Blood Diamond was too much to overcome and it wasn’t special at all–Djimon Honsou on the other hand, was explosive!). DiCaprio’s performance in The Departed stands head and shoulders above everything in Blood Diamond. It was the absolute best performance in the entire film in my opinion. Handily.
DiCaprio looks particularly incredible in the trailer. I’m not sure how the film as a whole will do, I think it could go either way in such a strong year as 2008 is turning out to look… but I actually predict DiCaprio will be nominated and Winslet will not. She doesn’t look all that impressive in this, and it also seems as though she is playing this character in almost the same way she played Sarah in “Little Children”. Add on top of that, how jam-packed Lead Actress is looking… I think the whole film will need to be a success for her to score a nomination.
Just my early predictions/Gut feeling…
It is amazing to me how so many of you can watch a minute and a half trailer for a movie and already have it gutted and disassembled. Then trash two very talented actors for choosing to do the movie. I think it is apparent in the choices that they have made in past films that they are both passionate about acting. I look forward to seeing this movie and I will wait to make my decisions about it until I see the finished product.
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