Year: 1999
Director: Sam Mendes
Country: U.S
Language: English
Kevin Spacey has been in films like The Usual Suspects and Margin Call, yet I can't see him as anyone either than Lester Burnham. He's such a perfect fit for that role, not that I think Spacey is a creep, but he does look like an older father figure. American Beauty is a film that I've seen over a dozen times and will likely see much more. It is a fun film to analyze and attempt to understand. It is a profound reflection of life and the mood we all feel to just let go and escape from responsibility. It is perhaps the most important American film of the last 25 years.
The film seems to be about Lester (Kevin Spacey) and Carolyn Burnham (Annette Benning) On the surface they are a perfect husband and wife, in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood. In reality Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression. He finally snaps when he becomes infatuated with one of his daughter's friends. Meanwhile his daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is developing a relationship with their next door neighbor who lives with his militaristic and homophobic father.
One theme in this film is the desire for the seemingly unattainable. Lester desires a more free life and his daughter's friend. Carolyn desires a better husband and more success in her job. Jane, as well as her neighbour Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley) desire a more understanding father. Col. Frank (Chris Cooper) secretly desires a gay relationship and Angela (Mena Suvari) wishes to be perceived as beautiful. The color red frequently and purposely is shown on the screen whether it is on the flower petals in a bathtub or on the handles of Carloyn Burnham's sheers as she gardens. A lot of each character's desire is shown through their problematic sexual relationships. Rarely is sex ever "sex" in American Beauty. Sex can reveal so much more, infact a great sexual revelation in this film is when Lester undresses Angela and chooses not to kiss her. This very moment he realizes that freedom does not necessarily equal irresponsibility, and thus it is a very humbling moment in the film.
Another theme in American Beauty is slightly obvious because of the tagline. "Look Closer" We need to re-examine our lives and ask ourselves "is this who I want to be?" before we have nervous breakdowns or a mid-life crisis. We need to constantly ask this question and if we are not who we want to be then we have to act upon it, but act responsibly. In American Beauty everyone re-examines their life when it's a little too late, worst of all they go about their revelation in a very child-like manner. I love the ending, before the shock, Lester looks at his picture, he had a lot of what he wanted but if he had just reviewed his life more often then maybe he would have had more. What's most shocking about this film is that Burnham's life is the life of milllions of Americans who should have had many retrospective conversation with themselves.
In conclusion, American Beauty is a brilliantly directed and incredibly important film that will remain relevant for decades. Unfortunately many people will not see the deeper meaning of this film, a former friend of mine watched the film with me and said "that's what I should be doing!" referring to Lester's irresponsible actions, completely forgetting it didn't necessarily work out for him. It's a film you NEED to watch again and again. Praise it! 5/5
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