QMR: A Depressing Duo -- Revolutionary Road, Boy Interrupted

It's not often that I watch a couple of films in a row that absolutely affect my mood the entire following day. Such was the case this past Saturday. My wife and I sat down to watch Revolutionary Road, which is not the most uplifting movie, and then I stayed up to watch Boy Interrupted, which is just downright gut-wrenching. Sunday was a long day.



Revolutionary Road (2008)

Bottomline: Surprisingly good. Worth your time -- good movie for couples.

Pros: Tight direction and excellent film production. The story was engaging and the acting was terrific.

Cons: It's Sam Mendes so you know it's not going to end well. Depressing. What happens to the kids?

QMR Opinion: I've seen two other Mendes films -- Road to Perdition (2002) with Tom Hanks and American Beauty (1999). I liked Perdition okay but I am one of the few people who just did not like Beauty. So, going into this movie I was not hopeful. The good news is that I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed it for the excellent writing, direction and production. It is a Mendes film, though, and it does not end well. Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are a married couple who are having issues. As strong as DiCaprio and Winslet are, the scene stealers in this movie are Michael Shannon, David Harbour and Kathy Bates.



Boy Interrupted (2008)

Bottomline: Heart-rending, gut-wrenching documentary that is not for everybody.

Pros: Well-done documentary that is hearfelt, deeply emotional and extremely personal.

Cons: This documentary is deeply disturbing.

QMR Opinion: After reading the bottomline, pros and cons above, you may ask why anyone would ever want to watch this documentary. Good question. The film was produced and directed by Dana Perry, who documents the mental illness of her son that leads to his eventual suicide at the age of 15. I would recommend this documentary to anyone who wants an inside look into how mental illness affects families and friends. As a people, we constantly amaze ourselves at how powerful our brains are, but the flip side of that is that when something goes awry it is incredibly complicated to determine and treat.

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