Galina_movie_fan

I am m not sure if I want to recommend Revolutionary Road even though, it is a very well-made picture directed by the creator of American Beauty and shot by Roger Deakins. The film reminds American Beauty with almost identical shots, POVs, even with the way the music creates tension, and most of all with the similarities in the subject matter. You can view the film as Sam Mendes's return to explore the territory and to perform dissection of the phenomena called American Suburbia once again and to prove that there never was peace and idyll in the quiet suburban paradise, nor in the end of the 90s, neither in the beginning of the 50s, during the age of hopes and innocence. Or, maybe, we should not try to look too closely, and the movie is not about the epoch, but one unhappy family of a man whose job is uninspiring (but pays the bills) and a frustrated, disappointed, unstable woman.

Acting is superb and confirms that DiCaprio and Winslet are among the best if not the best actors of their generation. But with all said, Revolutionary Road - one of the most difficult to watch films I've seen in a long time. The story of a young family from American suburbia who had lived their American dream but at some instant became exhausted with the monotony of their exemplary life, made me annoyed and even angry with them. What is wrong with those people, what makes them so unbearably unhappy, and why should I suffer for two hours, listening to hysterical cries and observing a storm in a glass of water? Why do they hate their lives so much? Am I to believe that never was a story of more woe than of the husband who has to go to work to support his family while his wife stays home taking care of their nice house and the children? She is restless, she feels trapped, she wants to change their lives, to make a clean cut, to go and start all over in Paris. Well, I have a surprise for her: change of venue would not make anyone happy if they can't find readiness to be happy inside themselves. If they can't be grateful for what they already achieved and what they are blessed with - strength, youth, energy, two nice and healthy children.

It does not mean that I deny films about unhappy families, not at all. Mendes' debut, American Beauty - one of my favorite films from the 90s. Perhaps, because it perfectly mixed tragic and humorous, drama and dark comedy. Or, perhaps, because in American Beauty, we had a chance to get acquainted with several characters, not with one but two unhappy families, to know and to understand them. Revolutionary Road - is the film about April and Frank and it concentrates on them only. This is the strength of the film as well as its weakness. Winslet and DiCaprio inhabited their characters, two little-interesting, selfish, ordinary people and played them so well that observing them for two hours has turned into difficult task. Their misery which they brought upon themselves is suffocating. Not just for them but for the viewers, also.

From the first moment, the creators of "Stranger things" don't hide the fact that the force behind the series is their love and dedication to the SiFi TV shows, books, and movies of the 1980s. The idea might not be original because we start to recognize the references to the 1980s hits from the very beginning but the true love for the good time that can always be had in the childhood when you see something cool for the first time, for the great stories and movies of days gone but still remembered, shines through all eight episodes of the season 1.

The fact that I kept telling myself that everything looks and feels familiar, that I can name the exact titles of the films that the creators were mimicking, stopped bothering me very soon. The story was compelling, the atmosphere - authentic, the cast - talented and enthusiastic. What was there not to like?

In the rest of the seasons, the things got stranger even if not necessarily better, but the first season is memorable and strong.

The tragicomedy "Marriage Story" by Noah Baumbach dissects the after-marital life of Barbers, an actress Nicole (Scarlett Johansson), and theatrical director Charlie (Adam Driver). It is about the painful parting of two loving people who have outgrown their relationship, reached a dead end, and are suffocating, but the pain of splitting cuts like a knife. Marriage is dying, but love is alive. How can this be? It sounds paradoxical and meaningless, but it's true. They know everything about each other, and their relationship is deep. She will still order his food in a restaurant. He trusts only her to cut his hair. They can't be together, but it hurts to part. And when highly paid divorce lawyers come into play, the pain becomes unbearable. All past mistakes, wrong steps, unsolved problems, and hidden grudges will be pulled to the surface. Everything will stick out like an infected abscess; everything will be distorted like in a house of mirrors. The film is permeated with tenderness and cruelty, humor and sadness, laughter and tears. A simple talkative story hits you in the gut and leaves you with a lump in your throat. The dialogues and monologues are brilliant, and the acting work of Johansson and Driver disarms with sincerity of emotions and depth of feelings. Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, and Laura Dern shine in supporting roles. Based on the story of his own failed marriage Noah Baumbach wrote and directed a poignantly beautiful and sad film, perhaps his best.