Fiction vs. Non-fiction

Watching Revolutionary Road today I am reminded of how little fiction I currently read. As I said in a previous post, the movie reminded me of the novel Something Happened by Joseph Heller. It has been at least ten years since I read it, but many scenes remain vivid to me, more vivid than the many history books that I have since read.

I know that in some ways I began to feel that reading fiction was not as informative -- it did not cover real events, and in some way felt frivolous. I don't feel that I have time to escape into a world that was created in the imagination of an author. And yet, those works of fiction are often able to get at greater truths than non-fiction accounts. Depictions of real events too often get sidetracked by the facts.

Revolutionary Road

There is a scene early in Revolutionary Road that works only in retrospect. Frank (Dicaprio) and April (Winslet) have an emotional argument by the side of the highway. It was difficult to assess the merits of the argument since we do not know the couple yet. I was uncomfortable watching them, for the acting seemed mannered and the outrage manufactured. I was worried that I was in for a "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf" tug of war. I need not have worried.

I enjoyed this film. Not because it breaks any new ground, but because it is so well presented, especially the acting. Kate Winslet is riveting. Her quiet intensity throughout the movie provides the prism to understand her disillusionment.

I kept thinking of Joseph Heller's novel -- Something Happened. The themes are similar to Revolutionary Road. It is this familiarity that requires that the movie be well executed to be successful, and it is.