April Wheeler
April is a pretty young woman who dreams of becoming an actress. Although she has talent these dreams never pan out and she finds herself playing the role of happy suburban housewife instead. Although she seems to play the part convincingly to her friends, she is deeply unhappy, and feels that her life is futile. She has plans for herself that do not include having children, and feels trapped into suburban monotony by Frank's desire to start and increase the family.
Eventually, April becomes listless about life itself and starts to despair that it will ever improve. She is frightened of Frank and his temper, but not emotionally hurt by it because she seems to grow increasingly emotionally numb as the film progresses. She tells him that she is not hurt by his infidelity because she is no longer in love with him. She does not hate him either; in fact she seems to be largely indifferent to him.
April is so desperate not to have another child that she performs a vacuum aspiration abortion on herself, but this is a dangerous procedure, and results in her bleeding to death.
Frank Wheeler
A blustering, largely unfulfilled man, Frank is essentially a bully who wants his own way all the time. He entertains the idea of moving to Paris because he would like a more interesting life but ultimately settles, and takes a promotion instead. He wants to have more children and selfishly pursues this even though he knows April does not want the same thing.
Frank cheats on April with a secretary at Knox Machines, but does not tell April until much later, and then only because he wants to reignite the flame of romance in their marriage and feels that a new, honest start will enable him to do this. He refuses to believe that April feels nothing for him anymore.
After April's death he feels guilty because he pushed her to have a child she did not want, instead of listening to her and helping her during her time of extreme depression.
John Givings Jr
Recently back in the outside world after being released from a mental hospital, John is blessed with a loving mother who wants to ease his transition back into society. He is a sensitive and empathetic man who seems to understand April when most people do not. He also understands her desire to escape her life, because that is something he has wanted to do for a very long time.
His sympathies, when it comes to the Wheelers, lie with April; he sees Frank for the manipulative bully that he is which their other friends do not. He is angry with him for ruining her dreams by taking a promotion and then blaming the cancellation of the move to Paris on her pregnancy. John knows that this is dashing her dreams.
Helen Givings
Helen is a realtor and sold the house on Revolutionary Road to the Wheelers, also beginning a friendship with them, despite the fact that they are closer in age to her son that to her and her husband, Howard. She is an outspoken woman, but also keeps her judgments to herself, or at least between her and her husband. She is a loving mother who wants to ease her son's transition back into society after he leaves the mental institution where he has been confined. She understands that the company of his peers will help him more than the company of his parents when it comes to getting re-acquainted with the world.
Helen seems to like the Wheelers very much during their time as neighbors, but surprisingly admits to her husband a few years after they have departed that she never really liked them very much and thinks that the Braces, who purchased their home, are a much better fit for Revolutionary Road.
Howard Givings
Husband to Helen and father to John, Howard is a largely good tempered man who seems to enjoy his friendship with the Wheelers, and who does not want to hear his wife speaking negatively of them after they have left. He has a habit of turning off his hearing aid whenever Helen is talking too much. Howard enjoys his suburban life and does not understand Frank's dissatisfaction with it.
Shep Campbell
Another of the Wheeler's neighbors, Shep has a soft spot for April from the first time he meets her, and this develops into love, from his side at least. It is not reciprocated and when he and April are left alone at a jazz bar, his overtures are rejected. Shep is an easy-going man who does not seem to like confrontation and tends to disappear quickly when things become tense between the Wheelers.
Milly Campbell
Milly is probably April's closest friend yet they still do not have the kind of best friend relationship that April would probably have found beneficial during her time of the greatest emotional need. Milly is happy with her life and does not understand April's unhappiness or her desire to move to the other side of the world. Milly is never bored and does not find her life dull but is unable to explain to April how she could feel this way too.
When Milly mentions April after her death, Shep becomes so upset that she agrees never to mention the Wheelers again.
