In the film Revolutionary Road, Kate Winslet ignores Leonardo DiCaprio’s errors, and nothing cuts colder. This snapshot of a 1950s couple’s failure to adapt their dreams to their actual life feels like a good play, with an emphasis on dialogue. Winslet stands out visually, though, as she goes beyond resentment into apathy. Ignoring someone freezes the soul much faster than white-hot hatred.
Late in the movie, the breakfast after a stormy scene creeped me out. The absence of action and emotion from Winslet’s wife — and the puppy-dog earnestness of DiCaprio’s husband to take the change at face value — left me stunned. Read my immediate reaction from Tuesday night.
Metacritic offer a lower-than-expected 69, but maybe I’m cutting DiCaprio some slack and over-emphasizing Winslet’s ability to raise a good movie into the great category.