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It's not quite all that, but it comes close. Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) narrates his own tale of mid-life crisis, self-discovery and despair, telling us from the outset what we see unfolding on screen are his final days on earth. With a dead-end job, a distant wife and daughter and an ever-expanding waistline, Lester has nothing to look forward to except fantasies and his morning shower. When his daughter Jane (Thora Birch) brings home her cheerleader chum Angela (Mena Suvari) for milk and cookies, Burnham is instantly infatuated with her, which gives him excuse to take his life and extremely reassess it: pumping iron, smoking dope, answering back to his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) and exchanging his job for something with a bit less responsibility. Backing this are sub-plots examining the equally empty lives of Mrs and Miss Burnham. The former treads a tightrope line between blind acceptance of her lot and neurosis, whilst outsider daughter Jane seeks solace in strange new neighbour Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley) in an attempt to shut out the less than idyllic family home she is forced to share with her parents. All is excellently interwoven with Lester's central tale of hedonistic descent and impending doom until a finale that puts an emphatic full stop on the whole sorry tale.
Dialogue is fantastically-written and observed, being both eminently quotable and believable, as well as often extremely funny. This aspect gives American Beauty a degree of black comedy which dilutes it somewhat, making it a less powerful film than Ang Lee's The Ice Storm, but a more comfortably watchable one. The direction and visuals also stand out, particularly those scenes of Lester's rose-petal strewn fantasies about Angela, and some of Ricky's voyeuristic home videos. Indeed the style of American Beauty seems to capture perfectly the superficial safeness of suburbia, with its teeming underbelly of despair underneath. A couple of things make the movie less than a classic however. Some of the characters are pure caricature, put there entirely for comic effect - particularly Buddy Kane (Peter Gallagher), the real estate tycoon that Carolyn runs to for comfort. Ricky Fitts is a bit too Wacky In Black also, making his character - and Jane's attraction to him - a little less believable than it could have been. The aforementioned comedy aspects of the film also detract from its impact a little, though thankfully not too often. Most of the humour surrounds Lester's return to teenage morals and pursuits, and these are mostly well-handled by the script and Spacey's impeccable timing. This stuff however is probably best left to Homer Simpson. On the whole however, American Beauty is an excellent and powerful piece of cinema, that isn't afraid to dissect the American dream and probe its lens into the cancers beneath. Mendes has created a rewatchable and likely award-winning film in which Spacey and Bening shine particularly brightly, and it stands as a future classic, taking its place next to the aforementioned Ice Storm, Sex, Lies & Videotape, Paris Texas and others that aren't afraid to shy away from the question of humanity, relationships and what makes us tick. Back to Screen Scene |
A dissection of the dysfunctional family unit, Sam Mendes' American Beauty
is being heralded as a masterpiece of expertly visualised in-depth
characterisation, insight and comment on the human condition.
American Beauty stands out primarily for the performances from its leads.
Spacey is excellent as ever in his portrayal of Burnham, at heart a tender
and compassionate man who reacts in the only way he sees possible to an ever
emptying life. Bening also shines as Carolyn, with voice and expressions
that flit between control and neurotic desperation like changing shadows. Birch
captures adolescent angst very well, and Bentley exudes mysterious dark
intrigue over the picket fence.