Pity the Wheelers of Revolutionary Road

I loved this movie, though I may never see it again. Which is unusual for me, since I often re-rewatch films so many times that I can recite chunks of dialog from the ones I love, especially love stories.*

But this one rocked me because I "got" April Wheeler so completely that I ached for her. The couple's fights rang so true they made me very sad. And the end hit me almost like a physical blow -- even though I saw it coming, I wasn't prepared for how terrible it would make me feel.

I wish the relationship they had with their kids had been fleshed out a little more. That would have helped explain the characters a bit more and added to the poignancy, but that's a small quibble with a movie that's very well acted and very well done.

If you go see Revolutionary Road expecting to see the stars reprise the doomed but perfect love Jack and Rose shared in Titanic, you will be disappointed. The Wheelers are, in their own way, just as doomed, but their love is complicated, messy and far from perfect.

*"I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Here's looking at you, kid."