random notes on revolutionary road

i'm willing to bet that revolutionary road is one of the top three films i see this year, full realizing that it's only 18 days into 2009.

when leaving the movie, a couple on the elevator was discussing the movie.
man: i don't know, i just didn't find it that interesting. a husband and wife screaming at each other for 2.5 hours just didn't do it for me.
woman shrugs shoulders
man: i get enough of that at home.
woman: oh, shut up.

in a way, i can't argue with the guy. but whereas he saw a boring story depicting two people fighting, i saw a fascinating portrayal of the turmoil that can dismantle any serious relationship. the film took something so basic and yet so universal and tailored it to a fictitious couple to whom, i imagine, anyone could relate.

beyond questioning the functionality of the couple's relationship, the film examined what it is to be *normal*, revealing exactly how subjective it is but how frequently it's asserted as something objective-- something that can be measured, something you meet or fail to meet. after the couple shares their plans to leave their current life in the suburbs with their friends, you later see the friends discussing how immature and unrealistic they felt the couple's plans were, which i felt revealed their own insecurities about the life they were living. it seems that their friend's decision to push beyond the status quo registered with them, but only enough to dismiss it as something childish because it inserted discomfort into their lives.

truth was another heavily explored element of the movie-- not just honesty with each other, but with yourself as well. the most honest character was also the man who had recently spent time in a mental institution of sorts and was labeled as "crazy" several times.

i appreciate that the movie didn't side with the husband or wife. it gave a pretty straight view of both sides and let you decide. more than letting the viewer decide, however, i think it aimed to show how two people who are seemingly so similar, in interest, in values, etc. can have inherently different approaches to life.

one scene gripped me unlike almost any other. it's one of the last of the movie and is so brilliant in how it takes the colors of the set and allows them to speak. it's subtle, undeniable, and nuanced all at once and when the camera zooms out to reveal the horrible stain on her skirt and the growing blood on the carpet it's chilling.

so much of this movie was horrific but not in a scary way. horrific in a this-could-become-my-life-so-easily kind of way. you would think one might actively have to choose a life like that but it seems like it so easily occurs. and maybe that's why-- it takes action to stay engaged and alive.