Mendes vs. Mendes

I finally watched Revolutionary Road, a few weeks back I read the back. I am always wary of adaptations, for example I heard that the ending of My Sisters Keeper was changed from the book, and that one choice is the reason I won't be going to a theater to see it. That being said, Sam Mendes, stuck to the core values of the book, though he fudged the ending a little.

As always, the cinematography was exquisite and I've love to see how the did the lighting. Not being proficient with the skill myself, I am fascinated by good lighting. That aside, the acting was good, not great. Both Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are good in everything that they do and I don't think that they needed to be nominated for Oscars for this film. Mendes, stuck the heart of what the book was about, how do we reconcile the life we have with the life that we thought we would have? Must we reconcile it or are we able to change our circumstances? I think one of the best lines in the book is when April Wheeler says that they were not really special.

I think that many of us have this notion that we're somehow special and that certain lifestyles are beneath us. When in reality we may just be scared to do exactly what it is that we want. Of course from the film/book's perspective, the time that it's set in had it's own constraints. Abortion was illegal, the women's liberation movement hadn't happened yet. Sometimes I think that we are constrained by convention. But other times they are conventions of our own ideas and fears. Which leads me to wonder if the problems that these people faced were distinctly Western or American bourgeois notion of how to live life.

Of course, I couldn't help but compare this film to Mendes' latest bow, Away We Go, which I found absolutely delightful and really well done. Again, he deals with a couple and the difficulties of figuring out your place in the world. Of course, this tale is set in the present and starred John Krasinki (i have such a crush). This story centered on a couple that was a little lost, thus when they find out that a baby is coming they embark on a journey around the country to figure out where to live and raise their child. Yes, it was very hip and modern and the people of the indie genre but it still spoke to a feeling many of us of not really knowing what we want or need in our lives, and in film it is usually death, birth or another catalyst that makes the protagonist change their lives. I think I preferred this tale because it was more relatable to circumstances that I see myself facing. And I love Maya Rudolph.

Watch the trailer: