Taking things to their illogical conclusions

Fight Club, The Matrix, American Beauty; I watched those films back in '99, and fell in love with cinema. I feel somewhat shamed by inclusion of The Matrix being in that list of formative films. Any pleasure I get from watching scenes I loved in The Matrix is now tainted by the knowledge that what I thought was great in them, grew into something so, so terribly awful in the sequels. Revolutionary Road isn't Sam Mendes’ first film since American Beauty, but the themes seem so close, and its reviews have been decidedly mixed. So going to see it I was dreading not only being disappointed, but finding myself having to be ashamed of American Beauty meaning so much to me.

( Revolutionary Road review under cut )

But like American Beauty the cinematography is superb. The scenes of beautifully composed domesticity that would look completely wrong if April stepped just an inch out of place, convey her situation simply and clearly. They're pure cinema, things that only cinema does, and they remind me why Mendes is responsible for making me love cinema.

Revolutionary Road isn’t new in any respect, but it’s damn fine art.