"No one forgets the truth, Frank, they just get better at lying"

Out of the mouth of April Wheeler played by Kate Winslet to her husband Frank played by Leonard Dicaprio in Revolutionary Road.

We all should know that as the truth. I have learned there is one thing for sure about that any liar will do - that’s lie. It’s habitual.

The Wheelers’ story is quite typical. Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love with boy. Boy and girl marry. Now husband and wife still youthful and full of hopes and dreams until... Girl gets preggers by mistake. Baby 1 comes along, then baby 2 to make sure the first one wasn’t a mistake. Life happens. Routine. Stepford? Maybe, but it’s still a rut race instead of the rat race. Husband has an affair. Wife suggests “let’s move out of the picket fenced life I wanted - I’m bored with it, and you don’t seem interested in us anymore”. “Let’s just go away - to Paris. Live there”. Wife convinces husband this is what needs to be done and so they plan. They buy airline tickets. Put the house on the market. Prepare the kids. Pack. Tells the guys at the office.

But wait...

Husband still having affair. Wife tells him she’s preggers again, but can take care of it before 12 weeks. Husband is strangely content. He’s gotten some kudos at the office for a project well done. A pat on the back. An offer of something better at work. Tells wife of his indiscretion but it’s over. She actually takes it strangely well. Her focus is still on Paris. Husband decides that they can’t move and uses the pregnancy as an excuse. Wife says let's have the baby in Paris. Husband already settled in his thinking, say no can do. Wife has a one night stand with the neighbor. Has a break down, then seemingly relents, sends husband off with a wonderful breakfast, kids off to the neighbors, and heads to the bathroom with the pan and tube. Wife aborts baby and dies. Husband miserable. Neighbors talk. Life goes on.

See, just like any typically stifled life. Revolutionary Road was very cliched and just plain old sad. The setting reminded me of the quaintness of the SCV or Stepford. Nothing bad ever happens and life is always good. But what’s really behind the closed doors of communities like this are the same stories behind other communities but they have been and are constantly being swept under the carpet and then judge when revealed.

Although I would not want to feel depressed again by seeing this film a second time, I recommend it if you like dry, hopeless stories that are thought provoking and lend to your understanding why you should never behave in such a manner.

Ciao Y'all

Movie still courtesy of imdb.com