REVOLUTIONARY ROAD ***1/2

Ten years ago, two fairly new and young actors touched our hearts in one of the biggest movies ever. Now they are back in a much more serious and adult themed movie. You could call it an unauthorized sequel to Titanic, sort of an imaginary look at how Jack and Rose would have lived, that is if Jack magically came to life after freezing to death in the waters of the Atlantic.

Revolutionary Road follows the lives of Frank(Leonardo DiCaprio) and April(Kate Winslet) a married couple in the 1950's. They live in a suburb, trying hard to live their life as a couple as independently as possible. Not falling into the common place that most couple in the 1950's were molded into. They have dreams and hopes and won't allow their surroundings to stop them from being original on an ordinary road, Revolutionary Road.

What they began to notice is that their plans to be different are not necessarily playing out. Frank works at a local marketing company and April is a stay at home mom who takes care of the daily duties of running a household. The problem is, they are both miserable. April suggest they move to Paris. Frank is less then excited, but finally agrees. They decided to tell their next door neighbors, who pretend to be happy for the couple, but are concerned about Frank and April who are choosing to leave the comfort of suburbia.

Frank and April are friends with Helen(Kathy Bates), a real estate agent who had sold them their house and drops in daily to annoyingly talk April's ear off. Helen ask is Frank and her would like to have dinner with her husband and son John(Michael Shannon) who lives in a mental institution. When they meet for dinner things take a shocking turn when John feels the need to be brutally honest with Frank and April over their recent decisions.

At this point in the movie we start to see the true effects of the downward spiral both April and Frank are going through. John, being both out of place and insensitive is pretty much the only person that really sees what Frank and April truly feel.

Revolutionary Road deals so deeply with the emotions of it's main characters that you can't help but be moved by the pain and desperation they feel. Neither one of them can come to a compromise and they are pushed to fight and save their marriage. As the movie reaches it dramatic conclusion, you know the end will leave each character with even more questions they wanted answered and the dreams they tried to accomplish.

Revolutionary Road works because of Leo and Kate. Both are truly marvelous and it's icing on the cake for Winslet who has had two wonderful performances this year(The Reader). Sometimes during the movie you see the same Leo you may have seen before in other roles he has played. His youthful looks work for the role of Frank, but sometimes take away from the emotional connection. Michael Shannon does everything he needs to do to steal the scenes he is in and Kath Bates is on par with her signature performance.

Some problems with the movie may be the sudden introduction of the neighbor couple and the fact that Frank and April have two kids, but are rarely seen or mentioned, making the viewer wonder where they are and what they are doing during the emotionally traumatic scenes. The movie is depressing, if you're looking for an escape from real life issues you may have in your own life, this isn't a road you want to travel down.

Unfortunately, this isn't how we would have hoped Rose and Jack would have ended up. However, Kate and Leo are believable once again and if we get a movie every 10 years, then that's fine by me.

STILL IN THEATERS