Beautiful film

"American Beauty"
Overall Rating: ****


I have mixed feelings about "artsy" films. The good ones are as complex and fascinating as any great art. The bad ones tend to be pointlessly weird. Fortunately, while "American Beauty" may be pretentious, it's more than strong enough to back up that pretentiousness.

The Burnham family lives what Thoreau would aptly call "lives of quiet desperation." Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), whose opening monologue indicates that he'll die during the course of the film, is a staff writer for a trade journal; after 14 years with the company, a newly hired efficiency expert tells him to write out his job description so the company can decide if he's an essential employee--with definite implications that he isn't. His wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), a real estate broker, is going through her own professional frustrations--specifically, stiff competition from another broker in a period where she seems unable to sell a house. The only time either of them communicate with each other or their daughter, Jane (Thora Birch), is when they argue. Then, Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley) and his parents move into the house next door, and everyone's lives are turned upside-down.

The cast, without exception, delivers excellent performances. With a good cast, I like to try to single out the best one or two actors, but this is no easy task. Spacey, Bening, Birch, and Bentley all make their characters sympathetic. The tragic aspect of the movie is accentuated by the fact that their characters are understandable and even, despite their mutual antagonism, likable.

The story is woven like a tapestry, filled with elegant touches. For instance, the homosexual couple living next door to the Burnhams not only reinforce the recurring theme of non-conformity, but also give another character the chance to reveal his prejudice against homosexuality--a revelation that turns out to be important later in the film. There's the ironic fact that, though Lester and Jane hate each other, they are also connected in that Ricky turns both their lives around. Jane's participation in cheerleading is equally ironic for the gloomy non-conformist. Subtle symbolism works its way into the film: Lester, shortly after he quits his job, purchases a remote control car--appropriate, since he's both trying to recapture a happier youth, and trying to take control of a life out of control; it's perfect that the toy car also runs over Carolyn when she comes home, since Lester's mid-life crisis is also running over her emotionally. Another interesting point is that Ricky's father, a strict, nearly inhuman, disciplinarian, is never addressed by his first name--it's not even in the closing credits. Frequent comic lines--comedy that's often ironic and acidic--simultaneously break the tension and reinforce the frustration (Lester's early line "It's okay. I wouldn't remember me either." is an example), While you know it's going to happen, Lester's death is shocking when it happens. Lester's quest to find himself becomes a classical tragic flaw--a good trait taken too far.

The big problem with the movie is the way the ending is handled. The action stops at the point of Lester's death--leaving a number of plot-points hanging. The filmmakers did it because Lester is the narrator. However, it wasn't necessary to cut the film off at that point, since the audience sees several events elsewhere that Lester doesn't. I found it extremely frustrating because I cared about the film's characters, and didn't get to see what happens to them; while you can make a guess as to what happens, I'd prefer to have seen it.

An R rating is appropriate for "American Beauty." Though it has much less violence than most major Hollywood releases, the violence depicted is very graphic and more shocking than most films that show more. There are also a number of on-screen sex scenes with nudity, several scenes involving drug use, and much strong language.

"American Beauty" is one of the most interesting films of the year--made interesting through strong writing and good acting. It is haunting like a great tragedy, and much more complex than most films. As the promotional posters say, "look closer."

Title: "American Beauty"
Release date: 9/17/99 (limited) / 10/1/99 (nationwide)
MPAA rating: R
Overall rating: ****
Aprox. run time: 121 min.
Director: Sam Mendes
Writer: Alan Ball
Stars: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley

Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/AmBeauty.htm
Added to blog site: 7/26/09