White Angst: Redux

Revolutionary Road-Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio

Director- Sam Mendes





SEE?




On the upside, a Leonardo DiCaprio film without any dismemberment. On the downside, 1950's white suburban angst. We've all felt that before. Let's just peruse the 1950s, shall we? Official end of World War II. Official beginning of McCarthyism. Josef Stalin dies. The polio vaccine is created. Segregation is ruled illegal in the United States. Rosa Parks stays seated on a bus. The space race begins. Fidel Castro becomes dictator of Cuba. I'm no historian. I actually had to look this stuff up. I had a sneaking suspicion that a lot of really important things happened in the 1950s. A lot of events occurred which do not seem to shape the lives of our characters in fair suburban Connecticut. I guess that's why people move there. But back to the story-young promising couple moves to Connecticut to raise a family. Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) muddles dissatisfied through his life as a man supporting his family. Frank's wife, April (Kate Winslet), struggles to be a suburban actress-housewife. (That combination never goes well together. Trust me.) One day, April hits upon a great idea to save them from their banal life and resuscitate their failing marriage. "Why, we'll simply move to France, Rhett, I mean, Frank!" Angst be gone. And then....




Let me just stop you there. Revolutionary Road was written by Richard Yates in 1961. Never read it. However, I love stories of unrealized potential. They make me feel comfortable where I am in this place I call a career. As a novel, I might love to sit with this story over a cup of tea and bourbon. (What?!) As a viewer in 2008, I can't relate. Here, however, is where I develop an appreciation for the film. Sam Mendes reminds me of why I am grateful to live when and where I live. Somehow this movie makes me wary of all the threats to the freedoms we have gained here in the good ol' U.S. (And, no, I'm not talking about terrorists.) Oh, and also, I never want to get married. Ever. Sadly for the film, the only people I know who might want to watch a marriage fall apart for two hours are nosy neighbors in a cramped apartment where analog TV is the only other option. I won't tell you not to see it. (Nobody listens to me anyway.) It is a fine, controlled piece of film making. It has extraordinary performances. (Michael Shannon will wake you from your "Oscar-worthy" performance slumber.) But be warned. Don't bring your modern day sensibilities to this film. You'll only wonder what planet those people on the screen hail from.






EAT?




Ahhh, to go back again to the good ol' days when the men were men and the women drank at ten in the morning. It's a miracle anyone survived the fifties. And what were these people eating? Was that a pineapple-ham hors d'oeuvre? Seriously?! If you crave a Hawaiian luau on a toothpick, travel to http://www.retro-housewife.com/. There you can find titillating tips for the "retro" housewife of today as well as recipes that predate fear of carbs. Careful what you wish for.





SHOP.





Hide your younguns'. This is for real adults only. And liberal ones at that. Condoms. You betcha. You will not find me in the bathroom with some strange rubber devise trying to terminate my own pregnancy (I'm really talking about April here. Nobody in their right mind would let me even begin to procreate.) What the hell! Soooo not liking the fifties mentality. According to Wikipedia, the earliest known form of birth control dates around ancient Egyptian times. Cleopatra was a busy little bee after all. The condom was invented in the 17th century. It seems far easier to use than the other strange rubber thingie that April keeps in her bathroom for more unpleasant occasions. (Dear Lord, thank you for giving me life in 1970.) When I go to buy condoms...who am I kidding? Happily, they are easier to procure than other forms of contraception or so I'm told. For other birth control options visit http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes "Enough already. Go take a cold shower or something."