Adam from Club Silencio here. I'm pretty excited about the impending reunion between Kate and Leo in Revolutionary Road, even though their suburban serenade looks to go south faster than you can say Don and Betty Draper.
But once upon a time they truly had stars in their eyes as the ultimate in star-crossed lovers. Long before they sailed the open seas as King and Queen of the world, they were Romeo and Juliet...
Not to each other, however. (Sorry to ruin the moment.) Icebergs, snooty class politics, powerful families... It seems the ever-cruel hand of fate has done nothing to keep Kate and Leo together. In this case they were divided by being in completely different movies!
Both actor's careers gained infinite momentum after these startling turns. By the time of Romeo + Juliet, Leo DiCaprio was already about to board that doomed (but oh so profitable) ship, and was prepping for that tragic romance by starring in THE ultimate. My wishes that Leo play the role of Romeo by reprising his character of Arnie Grape were quickly vanquished, but I can't say it didn't work out in his favor. Young girls (and me) were swooning over his every hyper-articulated word.
Kate Winslet's career began with her turn as the ever-imaginative Juliet in Peter Jackson's divine Heavenly Creatures. She'd already mastered her ravishing blend of comedy and dramatic poignancy by her debut film! And talk about star-crossed lovers, Juliet's lesbian love affair with Pauline is forced apart by their families and doctors. Big mistake. This generation's couples are a bit more proactive. They takes drastic measures with a meddling mom in order to assure their dreamlife continue.
Kate as Juliet puts it best, "All the best people have bad chests and bone diseases. It's all frightfully romantic!" That's a good way to describe Kate and Leo actually: frightfully romantic. The pairing looks so perfect on the surface, but we all know better. If Revolutionary Road doesn't end in a double suicide or matricide, we can consider it their happy ending.
