The Curious Case of Revolutionary Road

I just saw Revolutionary Road and can't believe that it wasn't amongst the nominations for movie of the year. The movie follows a young married couple (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) with 2 kids living the "American Dream" in the suburbs. Neither one of them is happy: DiCaprio hates his mundane office job, Winslet is a housewife who gave up her dream of becoming an actress, and they both feel the "hopeless emptiness" of the life that they created. One day, his wife suggests escaping the rat race by selling their car/house and moving to Paris. She was going to become the breadwinner by getting a lucrative secretarial position while her husband was free to find his passion. They tell their neighbors and co-workers of their plans and set forth planning their escape.

So what made the film great besides the powerful acting performances and subtle nuances between characters? I found it completely thought provoking - why do we toil with jobs that we are unhappy with? Why do we give up on our dreams when our circumstances change? Is the "American Dream" a complacent delusion? Why do so many marriages lead to unhappiness? Does your life end when you have children? The funny thing is that the voice of sanity in the movie comes from the most unlikely source: an "insane" person.