An “editor friend” recently sent Variety‘s Anne Thompson a note about from the first long-lead screening of Sam MendesRevolutionary Road: “The word from me is wow!….very powerful,” the guys starts off.

“[It’s a] two-hander for Leo and Kate, all grown up now as a married couple, unhappy but still in love. They go at it fiercely and you can sense the real-life bond that lets them really go for it, all defenses down.

“It’s powerful and also beautifully written and filmed. [American Beauty director] Sam Mendes doing suburban angst again, but this time in the 1950s. I daresay it may be a modern classic. The screenplay race this year is unusually light on adaptations, so this being an adaptation of the Richard Yates novel, I’d look for a nomination.”