I get that they married young. That their life had become a routine. But the way she acted towards him was not just anger but disgust. It seems like her true feelings towards him came out.
DON'T GET CRAZY, IT'S JUST A MOVIE!
I think she loved him at the beginning of their marriage. Remember the scene that gives April the idea of moving to Paris? She says "You are the most interesting person I've ever met" and she meant that.
But as life goes on Frank had to unravel the fact that he as everybody else a normal guy leading a normal life which made April unhappy and her failing acting career doesn't help either.
When you are emotionally hurt and quarrel for a long period of time you tend to say things like that. At that stage love goes out of the window and all she could show was "care" for him at the end.
http://roadsidemovies.blogspot.com/
She loved Frank at the times when they were together, making plans for Paris.
She felt she was different from most people she felt the need to cast all of the obligations of suburban aside, and an interesing life of freedom in Paris - and everybody judged negatively her for it. Fortunately Frank understood her and he was the only one, perhaps apart from the 'psycho'..
So she felt they were a wonderful team, together against a world that didn't understand them.
Except that Frank turned out to be little more square than she thought, and sold out their dream together for a raise at work.
Then he proceeded to tell her that the core beliefs and dream, the one she thought were shared by him, were actually just 'childish' .
Of course she stopped loving him by them.
Frank truly betrayed her.
Of course realised after the last fight she still had sympathy for him.
I think she did feel sorry for him the morning before she died.
That is why she decided to be nice to him the last day and told him she didn't hate him.
She didn't. That wasn't acted.
The foundation of almost all of April's actions was really her depression. Depression is a very scary thing that could change a person completely. Personally, I think she did love him, I don't think she ever stopped. If she didn't love him, the last morning breakfast they shared together, she wouldn't have even tried. Even in the end, when she gave herself her abortion, her reaction after makes me think she truly regretted it, and was sad, not only for herself. I think she was so depressed, that she didn't even recognize herself anymore. It's hard for someone to love someone else, when they can't even love themselves. I feel like what she really needed was help.
shareI agree, I believe she didn't know how to love. There is a deleted scene in which her father comes for just a quick visit as a child. It seems she wasn't nurtured and became distant.
shareI also agree.
Friends and co-workers label their Paris plans childish and unrealistic. I wasn't sure early in the film if they were right, or - unlike the "superior" Wheelers - lacked courage, talent and ambition.
Turned out they were right. And, as the plans were all April's, turns out she had a childish and unrealistic attitude towards life and no adult ability to love.
I've watched this several times and today I viewed the breakfast scene differently - she was acting. It was the ultimate f u to the husband who belittled her acting, which she loved and made her feel alive. That morning he left thinking everything was back on track, she was falling in line with how he said their life should be, and he even stated how it was the nicest breakfast he ever had. Boy did she have the last laugh- she was a much better actress than he knew. She knew what her plans were and would she show him when he got home from work that night. She didn't love him in the end - that's why the affair did not affect her. If she did love him we would've seen anger at that fact.
She did fall in love with him - the handsome young dreamer, but he became a suburban zombie, living to work instead of working to live. As his dreams died (and he let them) so did her love for him. He changed, not her.
Good comment and I always knew she was acting. The way she belittles him when he draws that picture...
She never changed, no. But she was as much, or even more at fault than her husband. She was childish.
He was real and she was not. He was fooled by the breakfast act because he wanted to be. He wanted the even keel that she portrayed..even though he was clearly confused by it. That's the point, he didn't want the boat to rock any longer so he didn't ask questions. She had already lost her mind as he had shown himself to be something that she wouldn't ever fully relate to. The "real world" got in the way of both of their dreams yet the difference was that he adjusted and she did not. You might say that he was "growing up" and her maturation was stunted.
sharePeople seem to be really hard on April here. Yes, she often acted in destructive or unhealthy ways. But, I do think she loved Frank. I just think her own unhappiness was getting in the way. The thing about this movie is that there's no clear good guy or bad guy in the relationship. That's what makes it so real. They're both at fault, in their own ways.
And I actually think her behavior in the breakfast scene was for his benefit. Not to mock him but to give him what he wanted. It could also be possible that, having made her decision, April had come to a genuine place of peace about their relationship. But, also, her expression when he does his drawing shows that, in the end, what he does still bores her. And maybe that's why she's feeling peaceful: she knows they're not compatible anymore and accepts it. It's all very complex.
She didn't love him in the end - that's why the affair did not affect her. If she did love him we would've seen anger at that fact.
I got a completely different vibe from the last breakfast scene. I've experienced this with a horrendous fight the night before and then the next morning it was a very strange politeness. That person has checked out and really trying to put up a phony facade before they bolted. It was eery how close to reality that hit home.
share^^ this. I think April had every intention of bolting if the termination went as planned.
shareshe did not love him VERY MUCH. She was interested in him. She thought he was fun. She liked the self important part of him. She liked things about him. But LOVE? I dont think so. They were both selfish people. But he didnt realize she was manic depressive exacerbated by the era in which she lived and the woman's role at that time. She had delusions of self importance, that were so strong she put herself even above her children numerous times in the film. Even today she would be considered a female d-bag, and probably on prozac. He would be about the same. Also a d-bag. A movie about two d-bags.
shareIOW, it shud be called Douchebaggery Road
Werd 2 ur mudda, bruddafckka
I suppose that she did love him at one stage of her relationship, which is evident from the start, but I think what is thematic about the film is the notion of shakles of soceity not allowing them to be free
- would have they been happier if they went to paris?
or would it have gone routine again.
it could be argued that what she did at the end, cooked breakfast, accepted his job, gave in to his idea of not having the baby was her sacrficice and showing that she really did love him.
It was all an act matey.... remember her belittling when he draws that picture?...
shareyou didn't understand the movie.
if she didn't love him she wouldn't kill herself ! she'd just leave
it's not about their love its about the meaninglessness of their lives, of our lives of all us people of the western world,
it's about how he let fear run his life, how he never dared to be alive, how he chose security over freedom, how HE chose to not live.
Her outcome wasn't on purpose, it was a result of the home procedure.
She didn't want to be saddled with another child. She felt held back. They shouldn't have deleted the scene in which her father visited her when she was a child.
Frank was comfortable in his day to day life and only dreaming in his head.
only dreaming in his head
But as you pointed out, you weren't a middle class American housewife and mother during the 1950s.
She had responsibilities that had to come first because she chose to marry and did have the children.
They probably could have made the move work but in greater fear for most to try during that time period. It's much easier since to research, keep in touch, obtain necessary items, etc.
imo it was easier back then : far less paperwork, much more freedom to get anywhere (even if travels were slower - the time lost in bureaucracy nowadays makes it the same at the end)
necessary items ? when you travel do as the locals; so there aren't.
children ? an international education is what's best for them.
last but not least, i remember (haven't seen it since 3/4years, could be wrong) she chose to marry on the promises they 'll have a life of wonders & freedom. i don't remember revolutionary road & boring life being part of the marriage deal at all.
she got cornered, escaped as she could as an housewife can in a puritan society....
There wasn't less paperwork just less electronic paperwork. Terror alerts happen today but their time was shortly after WW2 and during the Cold War.
She looked into some of the paperwork in the movie. I don't remember all of the details but remember the mention of a ship because of the Titanic.
You can't always do as the locals when you have children. We are also creatures of habit and it often takes time to become accustomed.
An international education wouldn't be terrible. Best, could depend on the individual.
Many say things prior to the event but no one can predict the future. I remember an episode of I Love Lucy in which she wanted a dishwasher. She said that before they married he had promised that dishwater would never touch her lily white hands. He said he held true to that because she had rubber gloves.
It was a different time period. She knew from seeing other couples what marriage and motherhood could be like.
It's easier for us that have had modern role models and international social media to make the world seem smaller and a less scary place in which to try new things.
I'm not arguing that they grew apart. She though made her own choices and then had responsibilities.
There are things she could have done such as go to school, get a job, do charity work, take trips, etc.
The burden of providing for the family in that era in their position was mainly on the man so holding onto a good job and getting a promotion would have been difficult to throw away. Especially without known precedents.
I guess it's just all in the way one looks at things.
You can't always do as the locals when you have children.
The locals there don't have American children.
Cultures are different and sometimes take time to adjust and mesh.
I remember hearing/reading about the food on Ellis Island being an issue because each nationality, of course, wanted to eat the types of food to which they were accustomed. Some of that of the others seemed strange to them so they were reluctant to try any of it. Nowadays we know all about food and things from other cultures and lands.
Just wanted to add/clarify, that a couple of adults could easily go it with the minimal of basics such as backpacking across Europe. Parents though, especially those walking away from security, have to think of things like will they have income coming in so they don't quickly deplete their savings, will they find a safe place to live, will they be able to easily get nutritious food for their growing children, will they be able to get adequate medical care, will they be able to communicate with and trust those with whom they come into contact, etc.
Living as what may come can be a great adventure for carefree adults of any era. We living today have the luxury at our fingertips of all the stories and info from those that came before us.
I don't blame April for being bored, unsatisfied, in a rut, etc. but she had taken on responsibilities. She could have chosen to use birth control and maybe she did but accidents happen.
The plan was that she would work while in Europe but the pregnancy could have made that wait. Today Frank may have been able to work as an ex-pat as many now are.
Why couldn't she just love Frank like he loved her?
God dammit
I think she loved him at the beginning and loved their marriage.
But towards the end she started to despise him and their mundane life together. She got frustrated that he gave up his life and dreams to settle for an ordinary life, while she herself attempted to still live her dream. She got disappointed that the young idealistic Frank she fell in love with gave up so easy on those ideals.
I've seen this happen plenty of times recently. I am 25 years old and it seems like most of the kids I went to school with married before the ink dried on their high school diplomas. They think when they are young and in a early stage of a relationship that everything is going to be all happy and rose colored but when the reception is over they come to realize they just gave themselves a life sentence and can no longer have the freedom like they did when they were single. It's even worse when you have children. If your friends are going to a movie and you can't because you have kids, tough. If your friends are going out clubbing and you can't because your married, tough. April was the same way. She thought her and Frank would be this happy, adventurous couple and when the reception was over and kids came along all they had was the same day being repeated everyday. He would wake up, go to work, come home, go to bed. She would wake up, clean, cook, deal with the kids, and go to bed after being closed inside a house all day.
shareit's funny. as i read through these threads, for some reason 'gone girl' just popped in my head and i remember amy's line where she says 'he really thought i was going to love him unconditionally? no way!'. obviously this and 'gone girl' were two completely different movie and amy was a narcissist while april i believe was mentally ill, but i do believe there was a part of april that said 'this is not what i signed up for', and she shares that in common with amy, so did she love him? i think she loved what he promised her.
shareShe loved the Frank she met first not the one he become with time.. its just that he changed with time but she didn't.. its up to you how would you like to put into words that 'change' of Frank.. you can say that with time he turned into a mature person from an immature one.. or you can say that once he was idealistic but with time he turned into a realistic person.. but the point is that he changed but she didn't.. she was not happy with that changed person.. she wanted back the one she loved.. she was excited to avail a chance to get back it.. but then lost that chance.. and for her, it was the last lost chance of her happiness..
shareMore simply put, she loved him when he said he wanted to live in Paris where people actually have a life. She never wanted the boring, monotonous, suburban life.
But as the movie went on and Frank became more and more content with the boring, monotonous, suburban life, April began to resent him.
She loved him in the beginning. But she resented him breaking his promise to her, ruining her life, and becoming the man she never wanted.