-Story-
American Beauty tells a number of intricate and fascinating life stories and weaves them together into a somewhat disturbing, but mostly really raw and beautiful whole that challenges the viewer to think and feel something real. I loved this movies as a whole; everything works together so well to illuminate the intricate dysfunction of the perfectly typically American family. The story revolves around Lester Burnham, a man in the midst of a mid life crisis. But that’s really not what the movie is actually about. American Beauty is about joy. It’s about being happy and finding yourself and seeing the magical everyday beauty all around us. The theme may sound a bit hokey, I don’t care though, this film pulls it off fantastically. The characters are alive, real, completely screwed up and wonderful to watch. It’s a character driven piece that is vibrant with realism. The situation is strange, maybe a bit unbelievable, but that strength of these characters makes any of the negative aspects seem to just float away. This story is pure movie magic.
-Look-
This film has some fantastic cinematography to it. Perhaps a bit forced at times it still manages to shine. The shot composition in particular is astounding and really constantly and appropriately reflects theme. Lester is small, alone isolated and the camera shys away from him. I’m not even sure theres a single close up of Lester before he decides to turn his life around. It’s really wonderful to see this kind of guts in camerawok. I know that some people didn’t enjoy all of the set pieces here. Some people felt that the film went too far. The screwed up next door neighbor Ricky, is too intense with his camera, the adulterous wife Carolyn goes too far in her neurosis. And I see where those people are coming from but I just can’t agree with them. Then again this movie is like a film students dream. The colors are beautiful, the characters deftly written, and the little touches although sometimes obvious completed the fiction. Maybe that’s it, this story is art it isn’t life, it’s like a very realistic painting or reflection of our lives, but it really isn’t life, it’s just art. I think the people that were disappointed by the way this film looked wanted this film, that tries so hard to show us something about ourselves, to be somehow more. Why though? It’s a film. It doesn’t tell us how to live. The characters are real, but the story is a fiction. This is one of the best FILMS I’ve ever seen. But that’s it; a film. People shouldn’t confuse art with life. Or assume art is actually trying to be life.
On a sad note, the fantastic cinematographer of American Beauty, Conrad L Hall, died last week (January 4th, 2003). I've only seen a few of the films he worked on, more were made before I was born, but from teh ones I have seen: Cool Hand Luke, Marathon Man, Without Limits, and the fantastic recent Road to Perdition (also directed by Mendes) he really was a fantastic talent and it's a real shame that he's left this world. For his work on American Beauty he won a large number of awards, including the Acadamy Award. I just thought everyone should know that a great artist may be gone, but his work still manages to touch and insipre others. So thanks Canrad.
-Acting/Direction-
This film relies heavily on the strength of its actors to lay this sometimes heavy handed dialogue down convincingly. And guess what everyone there brought their A game. The film stars Kevin Spacy, Annette Benning, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, and Mena Suvari. Everyone, and I mean everyone is absolutely spot on excellent here. The characters are great. Spacy, albeit possibly a bit over sarcastic is incredible as Lester. I believe that his life could be a shambles. He has a wonderful everyman quality that makes him so popular and I suppose this is really the film that did it for him. He is disturbed, dysfunctional, and brutally real in his portrayal. Benning likewise is brilliant onscreen. In a movie that relies really heavily on the interaction of a few totally messed up characters as their lives slowly fall apart, the actors resonated powerfully with me.
For Sam Mendes, this is probably the most he could ever have hoped for with a first time director. He did a marvelous job. Even if a lot of the credit probably goes to having a fantastic cast and a great cinematographer. Mendes also gets my sincerest approval. The whole film comes together wonderfully. It’s no wonder this film won 5 Acadamy Awards including Best Picture, Actor, and Director. I really enjoyed the effort everyone obviously put into this film. It is really something special and I think they must have realized that because American Beauty shines with a truth and beauty all it’s own.
-Overall-
This film is absolutely amazing. See it.
