Sin #51: Love and Marriage

On the surface, the Wheelers seem like an ordinary couple living in suburbia circa 1950. Frank works for a boring company (following his father’s example) and April stays at home acting like a proper housewife. Ever since they met at a party years ago, Frank has dreamt of becoming an artistic refugee in Paris and April has loved Frank’s rebel spirit that currently seems to have been crushed thanks to the ambitions of corporate life; she suggests moving to Europe but she knows, deep down, that that dream will never fulfill itself.

“Revolutionary Road” is a tragic story of loss and unspoken angst that is simply devastating to behold. The Wheelers aren’t bad people but we sense that Frank and April have given up hope on their understanding of each other; there simply isn’t a way out of their misery. The movie explores some of the same issues as the TV series “Mad Men” that also analyzes the hypocrisy of married life and stereotypes in the fifties, especially the intrinsic sexism found in society (its hero works on a male dominated advertising company). Sam Mendes directs “Revolutionary Road” with fearless directness that both skims the surface and, at the same time, cuts very deep into the psyche of its characters. The film is boosted by the amazing performances of Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and Michael Shannon (in a staggering supporting role that shakes the foundation of the couple’s perception). This is a difficult and sad movie that brings a jolt of realism to the conventions of romance and married life on movies.

Now picture, on the other side of the spectrum, Burt and Verona, a happy and optimistic couple about to have a baby. They journey through the Unites States visiting friends and family, searching for a new home. In “Away We Go” Mendes lovingly portraits a couple that has found true happiness in each other’s arms, practically the antithesis of the Wheelers. The times have changed from the repressed fifties to a more open modern age and young and healthy people like Burt and Verona are allowed to enjoy a steadfast and communal life without the pressures of society’s burdens. They are young, smart and hip individuals unable to understand why other couples allow the kind of repressions that destroys lives or the bizarre methods of children’s education (seen in a hilarious and heartfelt sequence featuring Maggie Gyllenhaal). The movie works as a comedy but also as a touching story of hope.

“Away we Go” doesn’t carry the glum and depressing tone of “Revolutionary Road” and is more in touch with younger audiences with its criticism of snobbery. But Sam Mendes is a master of tone and never leaves his characters stranded in a plot on auto-pilot. With both films he shows a very distinctive view of relationships and its consequences. In one film it’s a tragedy and in the other it’s a blessing.