Hi!

Just saw the movie “Revolutionary Road” with Natalie… Nic and his wife, Ashley were there too… somewhere… anyways, It was made by one of my favorite directors (Sam Mendes) my absolute favorite film composer (Thomas Newman), and some great actors (you know who). Man, the movie left me feeling like I had to swim through Jello to get back home and then once I got home I had to breathe with a U-Haul parked on my chest. Even my eyelids are heavy and not just cos I’m tired. Maybe I’m over-exaggerating. It was heavy though.

I’ve always been able to let films (or any art) really rub off on me (if it appeals to me – cracks me open). I remember genuinely feeling like I understood the burden of being Luke Skywalker and that basically, I was him for that hour after the movie, as it’s imagination stirring powers slowly wore off. ha. I was like 7 then… I’m the older version of that now.

The movie has some great scenes, where I did the guy version of ‘crying during a movie’ (i.e. getting that sour feeling in my chest, like I could cry if I wasn’t so powerful, in control and manly).  It’s funny though, though it was super good, it wasn’t a “masterpiece” like a couple of Sam Mendes’ other films are (Road To Perdition and American Beauty)… but then again, it couldn’t be (in my opinion). And it doesn’t have to be. Just like every song doesn’t have to be a hit and every artist doesn’t have to be a rock star. 

I read a review that said something about how you never forget that you’re watching good actors, acting. And it’s totally and strangely true! Odd. I was always (even during those couple man-crying-tearless moments), aware that “hey, that Leonardo DiCaprio can act really mad really well!”… Maybe because the movie felt so singularly focused, that it was hard to believe these were real people. Even their relationship to their kids was very truncated… everything seemed to be distilled down to it’s raw core. Almost felt like a play more than a movie in one sense. Which was fine by me for the most part. For me the meaning of this movie (or the moral of the story) is that dreams can create AND destroy… and they destroy with amazing force when combined with selfishness. Maybe a masterpiece is in the eye of the beholder… the more I think about it, the better this movie gets. That’s the thing about Sam Mendes’ films they are packed with symbolism… in the script, in the set design, in direction of photography… I’m sure if I see it again there are more layers to be found. I love a good movie…. ya know, like “Pootie Tang”.

Okay, talk to ya later!

- A