Revolutionary Road | The Gorgeous Despair of Sam Mendes

Revolutionary Road has the distinction of being yet another one of those movies to really mess my head up. Other films to share that distinction include Seven and Requiem for a Dream. It’s not that these films are particularly disturbing in any way (although I suppose each of them are) it’s that when the credits roll I am left speechless – no witty words to offer as I reach for a snack or head to the bathroom.

This movie really affected me on a personal level as I try to deal with the doldrums of working a job that I can’t stand without prospects of a new one as the days keep slipping by… Anyways, enough about that. The point is that while I may not put the film in the Oscar category (although I’m behind Michael Shannon’s nomination all the way) this was a powerful film with a ton of artistic prowess behind it.

Sam has always had the fortune (or forethought) to surround himself with extraordinarily talented people, the most notable being Thomas Newman, and for a time, Conrad Hall – later with Roger Deakins. Together, they have mastered the art of being able to draw out every ounce of melancholy from a scene and turn it into something marvellous.

Unlike other “sad” films like The Wrestler or Monster, which are unmistakably “ugly”, Mendes has always taken a different tack. There is no doubt that Mendes’ films deal with some morose topics (war, ennui in the suburbs, being a victim of crime) but there is also no denying that every single one of his pictures is able to draw out the sublime beauty of those situations. With Mendes capable of weaving rich interactions between characters while still keeping the dialogue to a minimum, scenes are opened up to a much more atmospheric interpretation. That’s where Thomas Newman comes in with his poignant and sometimes cacophonous musical backdrops that enhance what we’re seeing to the point that we’re actually feeling it. And speaking of what we see; with cinematographic legends Conrad Hall and Roger Deakins aiming the cameras, everything comes out looking like a some kind of hand-painted landscape of American life. I was overwhelmed that Mendes managed to work with Conrad Hall in American Beauty, about as impressed as I was that he holds the record for the longest time between Academy Awards (30 years!). Hall’s use of light and colour in American Beauty was simply ravishing. The same goes for Road to Perdition although with a much greater emphasis on monochromatic tones. When Conrad passed away, Mendes somehow managed to find a cinematographer of a similar calibre in Roger Deakins, best known for his longstanding relationship with the Coen Brothers. Besides their obvious proficiency, what they also share in common is their ability to make the mundane look spectacular, whether it’s 30′s era Chicago, or a suburban front lawn.

This collaboration creates a superteam of movie-magic-makers capable of eliciting powerful emotions over things as simple as passing the vegetables at dinner. So these desperately sad situations, like seeing all of your life’s mistakes finally revealing their consequences all at once, are put on screen in all their pathetic glory and are mined for every ounce of beauty in them. Sam lures you out with genuine performances, Thomas teases out the emotional impact with touching melodies, and all the while you just sit and marvel at the wondrous beauty of the world laid bare by Deakins’ photography. It’s a fierce combination and an fine example of an ongoing collaboration that really works.

Do Sam’s movies have the same effect on you? Can you think of another superteam of moviemakers that do the trick for you?